Cinnamon Spiced Apple Wellingtons, a buttery pastry wrapped around an entire apple, filled with nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon, simulating an apple!
Apple Season
So many recipes rummage around in my taste buds during apple season.
However, this year, for a little something special and unique, I am going to create a Spiced Apple Wellington!
Apple picking or Farmer’s Market excursion for apples in the fall are a time of the year that reminds me that fruit baring season is nearing an end before the cold of winter sets in.
While I will make Winter Fruit Pies throughout the winter, for this special occasion of apple picking, I wanted to make a unique dessert.
What Is A Wellington?
It has often been associated with a Beef Wellington, which I will boast that mine is definitely the best!
Of course, beef is not the only ingredients that is spectacular with a pastry wrapped around it.
A Venison Wellington will do just fine also, especially if you live in an area where venison is available during hunting season.
But I am going to stray from the usual savory Wellingtons and make a sweet Wellington you are sure to love!
Wellingtons Are All About The Crust
Definitely, if you love this Apple Wellington, you will want to try another kookie recipe of mine, Apple Baklava!
Both are made with the same sweet spices inside and buttery crust encasing them!
Using Our Homemade Crust, or any favorite pie crust, or store bought crust, even a puff pastry will work.
The apples are peeled, cored (an apple coring tool makes this easy), and placed in a baking dish, covered and baked just enough to soften slightly, but not cook them.
This step softens the apple enough to be certain it is cooked inside the pastry, without over cooking the pastry.
Where Would Apples Be Without Cinnamon
If food is the spice of life, then cinnamon is the spice most loved in food!
The woodsy, pungent aroma of cinnamon is unmistakable and recognized by nearly everyone.
Nearly every culture uses cinnamon in their cooking, though not always in the same way.
While most think of cinnamon as the outstanding aroma and flavor in their baked goods, there’s more to cinnamon than that.
Savory Cinnamon
Having grown up with a Syrian mom, I observed her many uses of cinnamon in savory dishes, as well as sweet.
Cinnamon, by nature, is not sweet; in fact it is somewhat hot and peppery.
When cinnamon is used in meat dishes, it brings a spicy earthiness to the meat, and definitely not sweet.
- Spiced Lamb Tajine With Apricots – Mediterranean flavors come together in this richly spiced Lamb and apricot Tajine; simmered low and slow with aromatic spices of cinnamon, cardamom, sumac and ginger.
- Middle Eastern Kibbeh – a traditional Middle Eastern dish that is uniquely created with ground meat, bulgur wheat and spices of cinnamon, marjoram and black cumin.
- Fesenjan Iranian Chicken Walnut Stew – rich stew made with walnut and pomegranate sauce, often pumpkin with other exotic spices.
Cinnamon and Apple Decadence
Let’s get started with our Apple and pastry desserts that may look a little rustic but are packed with the Autumn flavors we wait all year for.
To assure that the apples cook in sync with the pastry, we will pre-bake the apples for just a just time.
After the apples have cooled, simply fill them with my sweet, cinnamon filling, wrap the pastry around the apple, egg wash, and then bake them in the oven until golden!
When these apple wellingtons are place on a tray, they almost look like a real apple or an art piece depicting an apple. Whimsical and delicious!
Ingredients Needed
- Pie Pastry
- Apples
- Butter
- Walnuts
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Walnut oil (optional)
Equipment Needed
- Apple coring tool – this makes the job go fast.
- Baking dish
- Foil
- Rolling pin
- Cutting board
- Vegetable peeler
- Chopping knife
- Small paring knife
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Basting brush
- Oven
Cinnamon Spiced Apple Wellingtons
Equipment
- Apple Coring tool
- Vegetable peeler
- Baking dish
- Basting brush
Ingredients
- Pie Crust homemade or puff pastry *see notes
- 4 Apples peeled and cored
- 1/2 cup Butter melted
- 3/4 cup Walnuts rough chopped
- 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Cinnamon
- 1 Egg plus 1 tsp water egg wash
- 1 tbsp Walnut Oil optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Place peeled and cored apples in a baking dish, covered with foil, and bake for 15 minutes. Cool.
- Puree the nuts, butter, sugar, cinnamon and a drizzle of walnut oil to make a paste. Fill the cored apples with this mixture.
- Roll out the pastry to fit around 4 apples. Wrap and mold the pastry around the apples. The warmth of your hands will help to mold the pastry, but start off working with cold pastry.
- Cut out leaves from pastry scraps and place on the top along with a piece to look like a stem.
- Egg wash the apples before baking to both smooth out the surface and give a golden finish.
- Bake at 350 for about 40-45 minutes or until golden and you can smell the sweet aroma of the filling.
Video
Notes
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.