Spiced Apple Crescent Rolls with Cider Glaze

Are you drooling yet? Because you should be – these might be the best thing I have ever eaten! Yes, they are that good! And they are a perfect pastry for fall!

I need to come up with apple recipes. Lots and lots of apple recipes. See, it’s been a bumper crop year for apples in Northern Michigan. Not only have we been picking like crazy off of the trees in Mr. Greene’s old family orchard, we also found several other trees in various locations that were loaded with fruit, so all together we’ve brought home over 100 pounds of apples. That’s a lot of apples. And we still have at least that many more still on the trees and waiting to come home with us! We’ve made lots of apple sauce and apple butter, but after days and days of chopping and peeling and canning we decided it was time to make some yummy baked goods too. (Have I mentioned my weakness for fruit-filled pastries?)

This recipe is scaled to be small, making only four pastries. Big batches are usually just too much for the two of us, so I like trying to make little batches if possible. In this case it was kind of a good thing and kind of a bad thing – because I would have eaten as many of these as there were in front of me. Seriously. I am already craving more! Of course, if you want to make more of them, just proportionately increase the amount of filling and glaze so that you have enough to go around.

Ingredients:

1 small (4-roll) tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 cup apples, peeled and diced
1/4 c. white sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbsp. apple cider or juice
1/4 c. powdered sugar

1. In a small saucepan, combine apples, white sugar, and spices. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the apples begin to soften (about 20 minutes).

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Open crescent rolls and separate into triangles. Gently stretch each triangle slightly to give yourself more surface area to work with.

3. The apple mixture will have a lot of liquid, so use a slotted spoon to scoop it equally onto the dough, placing it along the wider end of the triangle. Try to strain out as much liquid as possible with the spoon and set this aside for making the glaze.

4. Carefully roll the apples into the dough, starting at the wide end and working to the tip. Pinch the ends of the roll shut as much as possible to keep everything sealed inside while it bakes. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

5. Whisk the apple cider or juice into the syrupy liquid left over from cooking the apples. Gradually sift in powdered sugar, combining until the glaze mixture reaches the right consistency. Make sure it is not too runny but not too thick; it should coat a spoon fairly thickly but still run off. Adjust the consistency as needed by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more cider/juice to thin. (The amounts you need of each component may vary depending on how much liquid cooks out of your apples.)

6. Allow crescent rolls to cool on the cookie sheet for 15 to 20 minutes, then spoon on glaze. Allow the glaze to dry for at least 30 minutes before serving. Any leftover glaze can be stored covered in the fridge for up to a week and used on future baking – just bring it up to room temperature before using.