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Apple Butter Pastries with Espresso Maple Glaze

These fall pastries are perfect to have warm on these crisp autumn mornings. With the holidays coming up and fall coming to a close, these pastries are the perfect thing to make as one last hurrah! Made from a shortcut puff pastry, these twists have flakey buttery layers, with streaks of apple butter, fresh shredded apple, and loads of cinnamon sugar! To top it off, we have an espresso maple glaze to intensify those fall flavors.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 5 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 8 Pastries
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pastry Dough
  • ¼ cup warm water (Around 110°F)
  • 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
  • ½ cup whole milk at room temperature
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 14 Tablespoons unsalted butter cold
  • 2½ cups all purpose flour plus more for shaping
Filling
  • ¾ cup apple butter (homemade* or store bought)
  • ½ cup shredded apple*
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 large egg beaten
Glaze
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
  • ⅔ cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • A pinch of salt

Method
 

Make the Pastry Dough
  1. Whisk the warm water, yeast, and one tablespoon of the granulated sugar together in a large bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5-10 minutes. The mixture should become foamy on top. If not then your yeast is dead and you should start over with new yeast. Whisk in the remaining sugar, milk, egg, and salt. Cover the bowl lightly with that same kitchen towel and set aside.
  2. Cut the butter into roughly tablespoon sized pieces. Add that to a food processor and pour 2 ½ cups of flour on top. Pulse the mixture 12-15 times or until the butter is in pea sized pieces. You can use a pastry cutter for this step, but I find that a food processor works best.
  3. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, carefully fold everything together until just combined. You should be able to see chunks of butter, that’s what gives us those deliciously flakey layers. Turn the shaggy dough onto a piece of cling wrap, and wrap up tightly. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours, and up to two days.
  4. Once chilled, we can begin the rolling and folding process. Very generously flour a work surface, a rolling pin, and your hands. Roll the dough into a 15x8 inch rectangle. Make sure to keep flouring your surface as you work, because the more the butter melts in the dough, the stickier it will be. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Then roll that rectangle into a 15x8 rectangle and repeat the process. Do this a total of 3 times. Once finished, wrap up the dough in cling wrap tightly and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Prepare the filling
  1. In the last few minutes of chilling time prepare the filling. Shred your apple and pat it dry with a few paper towels to get rid of some of the excess liquid. Set aside. In a small bowl toss together the granulated sugar and cinnamon until combined.
Fill and shape the pastries
  1. Line two baking sheets with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper.
  2. Once chilled, we can begin shaping our pastries. On a generously floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 17x16 rectangle. Spread an even layer of apple butter on top. Then sprinkle/place the shredded apple evenly on top of the apple butter. Finally, sprinkle 3 teaspoons of the cinnamon sugar on top. Using a pizza cutter or a knife cut 16 roughly one inch strips, longways. This can get a little messy, but just go with it. Look at the pictures above for reference. Place one strip on top of another and pinch the sides to seal. Then, slice this in half vertically. Twist one of the strips into itself and then roll it into a circle, sort of like a cinnamon roll. Repeat with the other half of the strip. Repeat this whole process with the rest of the strips.
  3. Place the rolls three inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Chill the finished rolls while the oven preheats.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  5. Once preheated, remove the pastries from the oven and, using a pastry brush, brush the tops with the beaten egg. Top generously with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake the pastries for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are browned. Place on a wire cooling rack to cool for at least 10 minutes before beginning the glaze.
While the pastries cool, make the glaze.
  1. In a small bowl, whip the cream with a whisk until soft peaks form. This is when the cream will stay on a spoon, but does not form stiff peaks. Set aside. In a small saucepan brown the butter. It will melt and then begin to sizzle and foam. You will then see brown specks. Keep an eye on it, stirring frequently until browned. Then add the maple syrup, which will sizzle and splash, so be careful! Remove from the heat and stir in the espresso powder, confectioners sugar, and a pinch of salt. Using a whisk, stir in the whipped cream until combined. Allow the glaze to cool for 5 minutes.
  2. Drizzle the glaze over the slightly cooled pastries. I highly recommend eating them while warm, but they are good either way. Pastries stay fresh up to 4 days.

Notes

Apple Butter: I always use this recipe because it yields a thicker apple butter which works better for this recipe, but store bought works to. 
Apple: I think honey crisp apples work best, but use any kind you like!