Hermetschwenger Little Apple Tarts

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In large bowl, mix together dough ingredients. More or less flour may be needed to make a soft dough. Gather dough together and press into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.

Peel, core and finely chop apples and place in a bowl.

In small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Cut cold butter into 32 pieces and refrigerate half.

Flour work surface and roll half of the dough into 12” x 12” square. Cover remaining dough and refrigerate. With a knife, cut dough into 3” squares. Work quickly so dough does not dry out.

Place a heaping teaspoon of chopped apples in the middle of each square. Sprinkle on ½ teaspoon cinnamon-sugar mixture and top with dot of butter.

Fold four corners to the middle pinching seams and center. Place on prepared baking sheets with pinched-side up. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Bake 15 – 17 minutes or until light in color.

Place ¼ cup sugar on a plate. While tarts are warm, remove several at a time from baking sheet and dip in sugar. Transfer tarts to parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place on flat surface as they are fragile. These are best enjoyed warm. Store extra tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.

*Lois likes to use a combination of pie apples such as Granny Smith, Jonagold, Cortland, Russet, McIntosh or Honeycrisp. She suggests a marked pastry mat is helpful when rolling dough.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING (1 TART, 35g): 130 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg cholesterol, 40mg sodium, 12g total carbohydrate,  0g dietary fiber, 6g sugars, 1g protein, 15mcg folate, 0mg vitamin C, 0mg iron.

Check out these additional apple recipes:

• Sugarless Apple Cake 
• Apple Bread Pudding
• Apple Cinnamon Peanut Butter Quesadillas