Personal French Apple Tarts

It has truly been too long since I have last posted a Delectable Cate recipe!  It's not that I haven't tried - I did!  I had one much anticipated recipe over New Years and it was a complete and utter fail.  In fact, I had been so excited and it was such a disappointment that I didn't even really want to cook for a week or two after that.  But, this recipe is such an excitement that I just can't wait for you to try it and tell me what you think!

One of my favorite aspects of this recipe (aside from the deliciousness, of course) is that you can half the recipe and make two tarts when don't want a large dessert with lots of leftovers.  And it's a pretty quick and simple recipe, so you don't have to spend all afternoon in the kitchen preparing dessert.  It's also versatile; you could serve it for a breakfast treat, for afternoon tea, or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it's a great dessert in the evening! Voila!

Personal French Apple Tarts
2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, quartered
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 T fresh clementine juice
2 T unsalted butter
1 frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4 oz package), thawed
2 T peach or apricot jam

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Thinly slice apples about 1/16 of an inch or slightly thicker (I prefer them a little thicker rather than thinner, but you may need to have a little extra apple on hand, so be prepared if you slice them too thick!).  Transfer slices into a heat-proof bowl.

2.  Bring water, sugar, clementine juice (may substitute with lemon juice if clementines are out of season), and butter to a boil in a small sauce pan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Pour sauce over apples and stir so apples are well-coated.  Let apples sit in sauce until wilted (my slices never wilted, so I let them sit for about a minute). Drain apples in a colander set over a bowl, reserving the liquid

3.  Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch square and cut into 4 6-inch squares. (If only making two, cut half of the dough, and fold the other half back up in wax paper and re-freeze.)  Place squares onto a lightly buttered baking sheet (emphasis on 'lightly' as too much butter will burn the bottoms of the tarts - you could even try using parchment paper instead of butter!) and top with overlapping apple slices. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes - be careful not to overcook!

4.  Boil reserved liquid in a saucepan along with the 2 tablespoons peach or apricot jam until reduced to about 1/3 cup, then brush or drizzle on the baked tarts.   If serving with ice cream, you might want to double the sauce recipe and use the extra sauce as topping over the ice cream as well.

Enjoy!