Baking pan, baking sheet or cookie sheet

Parchment paper or Silpat baking mat

Rolling pin

Biscuit cutter, round cookie cutter or glass jar

Sharp knife (e.g. paring knife) cutting board

Medium bowl

Pastry brush

Wooden spoon or plastic spatula

Wire rack for cooling

Plate for serving

?? Recipe Variations, Notes Tips

Slice apples thinly so they bake all of the way through.

Use more or less sugar and cinnamon to your taste.

Use brown sugar or vanilla sugar instead of white sugar.

Use a small biscuit cutter for more, smaller tarts or a larger cutter for fewer, larger tarts.

If puff pastry becomes sticky or hard to work with, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

Top tarts with chopped pecans or walnuts before baking.

Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

How to make Easy French Apple Tarts

Note: This recipe is flexible and you really cant go wrong. In the recipe card Ive listed basic measurements for ingredients and yield but you might need to adjust things a bit when you make the recipe - depending on how you roll out your puff pastry, how large your apples are, how thinly you slice them, and the size of your biscuit cutter, you might need to adjust the measurements a bit.

Fortunately, you dont need to be super exact with measurements to create delicious tarts

Ok, lets bake some tarts

First, pre-heat your oven to 400F/200C.

Then thaw 1 sheet puff pastry at room temperature for 25-40 minutes (or in the microwave according to the directions on the box).

When thawed, the pastry should be cold but unfold easily.

If you over-thaw the pastry, and its too hard to work with, pop it back in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel, core, and slice apples into thin slices. Toss with lemon juice to prevent browning.

Carefully unfold and place thawed puff pastry on a floured work surface. Remove parchment paper.

Use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry a bit so its a bit larger and there are no seams. Dont press too hard or roll too thin. Make sure the dough has a uniform thickness.

Cut 6-8 rounds out of the pastry using a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter or glass.

If you have excess dough you can roll it out again and cut out 1-2 more rounds.

Or roll dough into balls and press into a couple more tart rounds. They wont be perfectly round but theyll still taste good.

Place tarts on a lined baking sheet. Use a fork to prick the dough 3 or 4 times (that helps keep the dough from puffing up too much).

Melt butter over low heat or in the microwave. Brush pastry with melted butter.

Place thinly sliced apples in the center of the dough, fanning them out a bit. Brush apples with melted butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake tarts for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Place tarts on on a wire rack.

Heat apricot jam and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Brush apricot preserves on top of the apples and the outer edges of the crust.

Serve apple tarts while warm or at room temperature. These tarts are best the day theyre made.

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