Crispy Fantail Apple Tartlets

I am an incorrigible sweet tooth; I truly would not have believed I would abstain from all the creamy desserts, chewy butter toffees, and chocolate-dipped ice cream, but I did!

The only reason is the nasty bronchitis that hit me about seven weeks ago; any of those treats brought up all the phlegm from the depths of my lungs, constricted my chest, and made me cough!
It was torture in the worst form - the coughing and not having the deliciousness. But I was forced to stop or else suffer.

I can now tolerate limited amounts of sweetness, so I decided to make open apple tartlets. I had a roll of good store-bought frozen puff pastry, cream cheese, and Pink Lady apples.

Pink Lady Apples, also known as Cripps Apples, are ideal for baking if you want the apples to retain their shape and stay firm, exactly what I was looking for. Unlike Granny Smith apples, which are better for Apple Crumbles and Tarts. They actually soften nicely for other kinds of baking.

I've missed posting and popping into Foodies Bee Hive. Not feeling well and not wanting to see all the nice goodies made by our talented Hive foodies!

Here are the simple ingredients to make this relatively easy tartlets that would be even nicer served with whipped cream. I'm still being careful of too much dairy!

I did not use the whole roll of pastry, and only used 2 apples to make 8 apple tartlets and 3 small jam turnovers with a tiny bit of apricot jam.
Ingredients

Quantities are approximate

1 roll frozen puff pastry
2 Apples
3 tablespoons Cream Cheese
1 Egg to glaze
Approx 1 tablespoon Cinnamon Sugar

Defrost frozen pastry overnight in fridge, pastry must remain cold
Roll out a little thinner on a floured surface, use cookie cutters and press into heart or flower shapes
Place on a baking pan, flatten the centre with finger tips and spoon a liberal amount of cream cheese in the centre, and paint beaten eggs around the edges

Core apples and cut into quarters before cutting into thin slices. Arrange slices starting from the outside to the centre, pressing the apple slices into the cream cheese

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake at 190°C till pastry has puffed up and is a nice golden brown

Cool on a wire rack and resist the temptation not to steal your own tartlets before they're even cold!
Sprinkle with a little castor sugar before serving

Note: I made a couple of jam turnovers and was surprised at the nice message inside the sugar-free apricot jam lid.

When I make these again (which I will, they're not too sweet), I will not roll the pastry out so thin, will still flatten the centre a little, but leave the edges a bit thicker to allow more puff in the pastry; it is puff pastry after all ;)