Need an easy, impressive fall dessert?

I was shocked how little time and effort were required to make these little rounds of harvest bliss. In fact, I had the ingredients on hand for over two weeks before I finally capitalized on an opportunity to deliver them to my table top. And now, in hindsight? I wonder why I didn’t make them earlier.

We had guests pop over for a quick visit on a weeknight. I thought it would be a nice touch to provide dessert beyond the coffee and chocolates, so I pulled out some frozen puff pastry (key shortcut: look for the box Pepperidge farms that already comes in six individual rounds or ‘shells’). One box serves 6—how easy this would be if I had to serve 12 or even 24?!

With the holidays coming, it is nice to have such a dessert in your arsenal.

Individual Pecan Apple Tarts with Rum Cream
2 large green tart apples
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup raisins
2 T water
2 T dark rum
puff pastry (1 sheet or 6 tart rounds), thawed
4 T toasted, chopped pecans
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 tsp sugar

Combine apples (cored, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces), sugar, raisins, water and 1 T Rum in small saucepan; cover and cook over medium heat 15 minutes (stir a bit). Let cool. Preheat oven to 400; roll pastry into 4 1/2 inch rounds (cut if using pastry sheet; for pastry rounds, just roll out to 4 1/2 inches). Press 1 T pecans into center of each round, leaving border. Spoon apple mixture onto each round, leaving 1/2 inch border. Bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile mix cream, 1 tsp sugar and 1 T rum until stiff peaks form. Place a dollop on each tart and serve.

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