In this video, learn how to make Chef John’s Apple Cheddar Twists, a perfect combination of sweet and savory flavors. In this easy-to-follow recipe, flaky puff pastry is filled with tangy cheddar cheese and sweet, spiced apples, then twisted to perfection.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Apple Cheddar Twists!
00:08That's right, it's apple season!
00:11And we're getting very close to peak party season.
00:13And of course, it's always cheese season.
00:15And that's why I think the timing for this very simple, but extremely delicious snack
00:20is perfect.
00:21And to get started, the first thing we'll do is grate a couple large apples into a bowl.
00:26And as you're going to see, I actually did two different versions of this.
00:29And for this first one, I did not peel the apples, which we'll compare later to the second
00:33version, where I did.
00:36And by the way, I'm using Honeycrisp apples, which I love to eat, but I think they're also
00:40a great baking apple.
00:41But for this twist, pretty much any apple will work.
00:45And we don't want to grate any seeds into this.
00:48So once you think you're getting close, make sure you stop, and you can go ahead and just
00:52eat the rest.
00:54And once we have those grated, we'll go ahead and squeeze over some fresh lemon juice, which
00:58yes, does prevent the apple from turning brown.
01:01But here we're mostly using it for flavor, since we're actually going to brown the apples
01:04anyway.
01:05And then once we have our grated apple prepped, we'll head to the stove, where we will toss
01:10some butter and brown sugar into a pan, set over medium-high heat.
01:14And what we'll do is give that a quick stir, and then transfer in our grated apple, along
01:19with every bit of juice, at which point we will cook this stirring until our apples are
01:24as browned as we want.
01:27And as I mentioned, I tried two different versions.
01:30And for this first one, I wanted to get a fairly dark browning on the apple, which is
01:34not only going to intensify the flavor, but also, and maybe more importantly, we are also
01:39cooking out a lot of the moisture in the apple, which is kind of key, since too much moisture
01:44is a crispy pastry's worst enemy.
01:47But anyway, right here, I thought they were looking just about perfect.
01:51So I pulled that off the heat and transferred it onto a plate, and then spread it out so
01:55it would cool down, because we're definitely going to want to transfer this into the fridge.
02:00Since it must be, it has to be cold when we work with it.
02:04So that's exactly what I did.
02:06And while our apple filling is chilling, we can go ahead and open up a package of frozen
02:10puff pastry.
02:11And by the way, I've been using this one brand for like 10 years, and I still can't figure
02:16out how it's folded up.
02:17But anyway, once we eventually get that flattened out, we'll go ahead and separate that along
02:22the seams, which for this brand, at least, is going to give us four rectangles.
02:26But if you buy one that comes in two pounds, you'll have to cut them in half.
02:30Or if it comes in one sheet, cut it in quarters.
02:33And by the way, this should be as cold as possible when you work with it.
02:36So do not take it out of the freezer until you're just about to start working with it.
02:40And then once we have that situated, we will take our now chilled apple mixture, and we'll
02:45divide that evenly over two of these rectangles.
02:48And once we have that divided up, we'll go ahead and spread it out nice and evenly, going
02:53pretty much all the way out to the edge.
02:55And that's it.
02:56Once our apple's been applied to this still partially frozen puff pastry, we will take
03:00some freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, and we'll transfer that onto the apple.
03:05And I guess you could use a different cheese, but I really hope you don't.
03:08Alright, sharp cheddar and apple is a culinary match made in heaven.
03:13Although something like a Gouda would be nice.
03:16But no matter what you use, please promise me you're going to grate it yourself.
03:19Alright, it only takes a minute, and it's a million times better than the packaged stuff.
03:24You know, the one that's coated with cellulose dust.
03:27I mean, do you really want to make your guests eat cellulose dust, just to save a minute's
03:31worth of work?
03:32Alright, I didn't think so.
03:34And that's it.
03:35We'll go ahead and take the two other pieces of pastry, and press that firmly over the top.
03:39And at this point, the pastry should still be very cold, but it's probably going to be
03:43pretty much thawed, and starting to get nice and pliable.
03:47And theoretically, we could start cutting and twisting if we wanted.
03:51But again, one of the keys here is working with the pastry when it's very, very cold.
03:55Which is why I think we should transfer this onto a sheet pan, and pop it in the freezer
03:59for about 10 or 15 minutes, before we slice these up.
04:03And that's going to allow for our knife to make nice, clean, straight cuts, with no mashing
04:07or smashing of the layers of butter and pastry.
04:10So that's what I did.
04:12And after about 10 or 12 minutes, I pulled it out of the freezer, and proceeded to cut
04:16each one of these rectangles into 6 pieces, for a grand total of 12 twists.
04:21Oh yeah, he cooks and does math.
04:24And then once we have cut those into nice, even strips, we will separate those just a
04:28little bit, so they don't stick to each other as they thaw.
04:32And then what we'll do is wait a few minutes, until these are just flexible enough to twist
04:36without breaking.
04:38Or if you twist too soon, and they're too firm, the dough might crack, which as everybody
04:43knows is whack.
04:44So you're just going to have to pick one up and test.
04:47And just as soon as we can twist, we will twist.
04:51And how many times is going to be up to you, but I think we want to get at least 2 turns.
04:56And my general strategy here, is give them a couple turns at first, while the dough is
05:00still nice and cold, and it's easy to work with.
05:03But once we do all 12, we can go back and give them another twist or two, which is definitely
05:09an optional step.
05:11But generally, the more twists you give them, the nicer they're going to look once they're
05:15baked.
05:16Oh, and if any cheese or apple falls on the pan while you're doing this, just simply pick
05:20it up and place it on top.
05:22In fact, once we're done doing this, I think we should actually go and put some extra cheese
05:26on the top anyway, since the first person that complains that their apple cheddar twist
05:30has too much cheese, will be the first.
05:33So if you're asking me, we should definitely apply some more to the top, and then for one
05:37extra extra step, before these go in the oven, I decide to sprinkle over a little bit of
05:41coarse sea salt, just to make them a touch more savory, and to accentuate the sweetness
05:46from the apple.
05:48And that's it once topped.
05:50These are ready to transfer into the center of a 425 degree oven, for about 25 minutes
05:55or so, or until they're beautifully browned, and look like this.
05:59Oh yeah, those do look enticing.
06:02Although the apple mixture did bake up a lot darker than I thought it would.
06:06But when you're working with puff pastry, you have to make sure it's in the oven long
06:09enough for that dough to cook, and for the bottoms to get golden brown, or if the bottoms
06:14look kind of doughy, put them back in the oven and let them cook, since the last thing
06:18we want is a soggy bottom.
06:20Speaking of which, once baked, let's go ahead and transfer these onto a rack, where we will
06:25let them cool completely, and since a rack allows air to circulate underneath, that really
06:30does help keep these crisp.
06:32And that's it, I let those cool, and then grabbed the worst looking one, and went in
06:36for the official taste.
06:39And that my friends, if you like apple cheese and crispy pastry, it's going to be something
06:43you thoroughly enjoy.
06:45Alright, our apple component tastes like apple pie, which as I mentioned is an absolutely
06:50perfect partner for cheese, especially something like sharp cheddar.
06:54And when your delivery system for those two things is buttery crispy puff pastry, you
06:58just know you're going to be in for a treat.
07:01My only issue with these, was how dark our apple mixture got.
07:05Which by the way, did not give it an off flavor, these really were incredibly delicious.
07:10But being the extremely curious fellow that I am, I decided to do another batch, and this
07:15time I peeled the apple, to see if it was actually the skin of the apple making it look
07:19so dark.
07:21And then besides that, I did not cook it in the pan as long, that first batch was pretty
07:25brown when we finished, whereas this batch I kept much more golden brown.
07:30And then I went ahead and filled, cut, and twisted those exactly the same, although on
07:34this batch I didn't add any salt, just so I could compare.
07:38And that's it, I baked them at the same temp, for the same amount of time, at which point
07:42they looked like this.
07:44Which I thought was fascinating, since they were definitely lighter overall, but as you
07:49can see they're still pieces of apple, that have pretty much caramelized all the way to
07:52the charring point.
07:54So apparently it wasn't the skin, and how dark you cook them in the pan really is not
07:58going to matter for that aspect.
08:00And as far as the taste went, I think I did prefer the first darker batch, as did my lovely
08:05and talented wife Michelle.
08:08But to summarize, both versions were fantastic, and tasted virtually identical, so you'll
08:13have to decide which way to go.
08:15I mean you are after all the Oliver, of your twist, and if one of your guests asks if they
08:20can please have more, just say yes.
08:23But no matter which way you go, I really did love everything about these, and I really
08:27do hope you give them a try soon.
08:30So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe and much
08:35more info as usual, and as always, enjoy.