Apple Strudel Flower Puffs

Place the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add the chunks of butter and pulse a few times, until the butter is incorporated in bits about the size of peas.

Slowly pour in the cold water while pulsing a few times until a very crumbly dough is formed. Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured counter and gently push it together with your hands – do not knead.

With a floured rolling pin, roll out dough into a somewhat triangular shape. Use your hands to fold the two bottom tips of the triangle inward and the top down, like an envelope.

Turn the dough a quarter-turn clockwise and roll out again into a rectangle shape this time. Fold the two ends lengthwise into the middle to meet. Then fold the dough in half across.

Turn the dough another quarter-turn clockwise and repeat the two steps above one more time, turning the dough a quarter-turn clockwise each time.

Tightly wrap the puff pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, or up to a couple days, before using.

Melt 10 tablespoons of the unsalted butter in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. Once it bubbles, add the breadcrumbs. Cook, stirring often for 3 to 4 minutes, until it gets foamy, smells like toasted bread, and the breadcrumbs have browned. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 10 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Once it starts to bubble, add the zest and juice of the lemon. When it comes to a simmer, remove from heat.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Cooking in 5 or 6 batches, keeping the green apples separate from the red apples, add about 2 tablespoons of the lemon butter to the skillet and add about a sixth of the sliced apples. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping once or twice, until softened. Scrape into a bowl, maintaining separate bowls for each color of apple. Repeat with the rest of the sliced apples.

Preheat the oven to 375°F with the rack in the middle. Butter a 12 cup muffin pan.

Set up an assembly line with the bowls of cooked breadcrumbs, cooked green and red apple slices, brown sugar, granulated sugar, chopped pecans, and ground canela. Take the puff pastry out of the fridge. Generously flour your counter and your rolling pin.

One by one, cut 12 even pieces of puff pastry and roll out into long horizontal strips of about 14 inches by 2½ inches, and at least ⅛ inch thick.

Spread a generous tablespoon of the buttered breadcrumbs across a strip of pastry. Alternating green and red, arrange about 15 apple slices overlapping each other, cut side down with the rounded edges on top, covering the top half of the puff pastry strip – leaving an inch of space along the bottom half of the puff pastry strip. Top evenly with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 tablespoons pecans, and about ⅛ teaspoon canela. Fold up the 1 inch of puff pastry left from the bottom of the strip over the bottoms of the apple slices and roll up into a flower shape. Place it into a cup in the muffin pan and repeat with the rest.

Once all the flowers are assembled, loosely cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the tops of the apples are lightly browned.

Remove from the oven. Let cool slightly and, one by one, remove them from the pan. Serve generously dusted with confectioners sugar and, if desired, whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream.