Heart-Shaped Apple Pastries

Do you want to give your loved ones something extra special this Valentine’s Day? If so, we recommend a sweet, homemade treat that conveys love with every bite. Heart-Shaped Apple Pastries can be served as a dessert, a charcuterie board accompaniment, or as part of a brunch spread. Each one is made with buttery, flaky pastry dough and apple-cinnamon filling which is topped with cream cheese and fresh apples. They’re the perfect way to show your love to those you love!

Try this recipe for Heart-Shaped Apple Pastries today! Follow the detailed baking instructions below, and you’ll have a batch of fresh, delicious pastries that are elegant enough for a Valentine’s Day dinner but also simple enough for a weekend with family. Let’s get baking!

Ingredients

• 1 Apple Butter Braid® Pastry
• 1/8 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 fresh apples, thinly sliced
• 1 egg, beaten

Step-By-Step Directions

1. Remove your Apple pastry from its packaging and set it out on a lightly greased baking sheet. Let it thaw for 1.5 hours.
2. Once thawed, roll out the braid using a rolling pin.  
3. Cut your dough into hearts using a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Chill your dough hearts in the refrigerator.
4. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
5. Preheat your oven to 350°F. While your oven is heating, thinly slice the two fresh apples. The apples should be roughly the same height as your dough hearts.  
6. Remove the dough hearts from the refrigerator. Brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Then, let the pastries cool completely before continuing.
8. Spread a layer of cream cheese mixture onto each Heart-Shaped Apple Pastry.
9. Top with fresh apple slices and enjoy!

Tips for Making Heart-Shaped Apple Pastries

• Store any leftover Heart-Shaped Apple Pastries in an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator. They can be stored this way for up to 2 days.
• For our Heart-Shaped Apple Pastries, we cut the apple slices into about 1/8-inch wedges. We used a 3” cookie cutter to make the heart shapes.
• When adding the cream cheese mixture to your heart-shaped pastries, we recommend leaving a 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch border of pastry exposed.