Apple Pie Roses with Sanding Sugar

Apple Pie Roses are a breathtaking dessert that are as delicious to eat as they are beautiful to look at. They're easy to make too!

*Disclaimer - This recipe was originally published in 2014. I'm working hard to update all my older recipes with recipe cards, new photos, and additional recipe information. But, getting to all of them will take time. Please bear with me. In the meantime let me assure you that this recipe is still a winner and one I'm sure you'll be well pleased with when you make it at home.

I can not take credit for coming up with the adorable food/craft (although I wish I could). I saw this rose tart video on facebook a few weeks ago and after watching a quick video, I knew I wanted to try my hand at making these.

Here is the video I saw on facebook. It's a YouTube channel called EasyChineseFood. I just love watching this (and all her videos). Her voice is so soothing and she does a fantastic job at showing how easy these roses are to make. Watch this. You'll love it!

Pretty easy, huh? I thought so too, so I was anxious to get in my kitchen and make them.

Naturally, I changed things up a little.

I decided to peel my apples (she left the peels on) because I wanted to use red sanding sugar to really make the roses standout. Little did I know that the sanding sugar would eventually melt into the apple slices and dye them red rather than having them sparkle with sugar. That actually still worked for me because I think they're really pretty this way. Plus, if you have a bunch of different sanding sugar colors, you can make roses in every color of the rainbow. Don't you think these apple pie roses would make lovely bridal shower and wedding finger foods? I do!!! LOL (wedding humor)

APPLE PIE ROSES WITH SANDING SUGAR 
Yield: - 10-12 roses      Prep Time: 30 minutes       Bake Time: 45-50

For the apples:
2 apples (I used Gala)
pinch salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey
¾ cup water
For the crust:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour (more if needed)
pinch salt
3 tablespoons apple water (that the apples were cooked in)
red sanding sugar (or sugar color of your choosing)

-Peel the apples and cut out the core (see video and photos for complete directions).
-Slice each half of the apple into very thin slices from stem to bottom. *Note - the thinner you can cut your apples, the easier it will be to roll the roses. Also try to cut the slices as uniformly as possible.
-Place the apples in a medium size pot and add the salt, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar, honey and water.
-Bring the apples to a low simmer and cook for approximately 4-5 minutes (until the apples are pliable but not mushy).
-Remove from the heat, cool and reserve the water.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a small bowl, using your hands, smoosh the butter, flour, and salt until incorporated.
-Add 3 tablespoons of the reserved apple water to the flour mixture and knead with your hands to form a smooth dough. Add a little additional flour if this mixture is too sticky.
-Cut the dough in half and roll each half into a 8" x 10" rectangle.
-Use a pizza cutter or knife to trim the edges if needed to achieve nice, clean edges.
-Cut the dough into strips approximately ¾" wide.
-Lay 5 the apple slices on top of each strip and carefully roll the apple and pie crust to form the rose shape. *Note - this is a little tricky because the apples are a little slippery after being cooked, so use both of your hands to play and push the apples into place as you're rolling.
-Lay each apple rose, crust side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.
-Continue the same process with the second half of the dough.
-Sprinkle each apple rose liberally with the sanding sugar.
-Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 45-50 minutes so the pie crust cooks through and the sanding sugar has melted and dyed the apple roses red.
*Note - These would looks super cute if you made a little more rose water pie dough and cut out some simple leaf shapes to add to the bottom of the roses before baking. Sit the rose on top of a leaf shape, leaving most of the leaf showing. Add veins to the leaf using the back of a knife....I so wish I would have thought of that sooner because I certainly would have done it myself! Oh well, at least you'll have the opportunity to try it :). To dye the leaf green whisk 1 drop of green food coloring to 1 egg white and then brush onto the leaves before baking. ADORABLE!
-Cool the roses completely on a wire rack and then carefully remove them from the parchment paper by sliding a spatula under each one.
-Place each apple rose in a cupcake liner, arrange on a platter and serve.

In order to give you a better idea of the process for making these apple pie roses, here are some step-by-step photos I took along the way. I hope they are helpful to you and I apologize in advance that some of them are a tad blurry.

Prepare the apples by peeling, coring, and slicing them thinly, and then simmering them on the stovetop with some honey, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water.

Cool the apple slices and prepare the pie dough by combining butter, flour and apple water (from simmering the apples). Roll the dough out and cut into long strips.

Lay the apple slices on the pie strips (the photo shows 6 slices, but I learned that for me 5 slices were easier to handle) and place the roses on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle the roses liberally with sanding sugar and bake in a preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.

I really think you're going to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these. They taste just like an apple pie, only in mini form, and a whole lot cuter 🙂