The classic flavor combination of cheddar cheese and apples come together in these delicious puff pastry pinwheel appetizers. You assemble them ahead of time and they are great warm or at room temperature, so they are perfect for parties.
Flaky puff pastry wrapped around a savory filling of apples, thyme and cheddar cheese. These fun appetizers are perfect for fall.
Plus you can assemble them ahead of time and slice and bake them when you are ready. They were a big hit with our crowd and I am sure they will be with yours as well.
If you are looking for a tasty and flaky apple appetizer idea, you are in the right place. These yummy pinwheels are loaded with onion, apples, herbs and cheese.
Because you use store bought puff pastry, they are easy to put together. And the resulting appetizers are really flavorful.
Making the Pinwheels
You will want to dice your apples and onion relatively thin. That way it is easy to slice the puff pastry pinwheels when the time comes.
You can peel your apples if you want. I tend to leave the peel on.
Email Me The Link
I'll email this post to you, so you can easily find it later. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Because they are diced fine, the texture isn’t a problem. Plus a lot of the nutrients are in the peel.
To remove some of the moisture, you will want to cook the apples and onion down a little bit. Do this in a large skillet with a little bit of butter, or use bacon grease if you have it.
If you are using frozen puff pastry dough, make sure it is defrosted. Then lay the pastry out flat and roll it out just a bit.
Make sure the filling is completely cooled so you don’t met the butter in the pastry dough. We usually use sharp cheddar, but gruyere or gouda would be delicious as well.
Serving Your Apple Cheddar Appetizers
These pinwheels are fabulous served warm. However, they are also wonderful at room temperature.
So you don’t have to worry if they won’t all be eaten at once. Plus they travel well if you are taking them with you to a potluck or carry-in.
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container and warm them for a few seconds in the microwave before eating them. They are best fresh, but they are pretty good rewarmed as well.
Apple Cheddar Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 large apples use ones that are good for baking
- ½ cup mild onion diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sharp cheddar grated
- 17 oz container puff pastry
Instructions
- If using frozen puff pastry, defrost it.
- Wash and core the 2 large apples, then finely dice them. Peeling it is not necessary but you can if you prefer.
- In a large skillet, melt the 2 Tablespoons butter over medium to medium-high heat. Sauté the ½ cup mild onion and apples until the onions are translucent. Stir in the ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon dried thyme. Then cool the apple mixture completely.
- Unroll the 17 oz container puff pastry. Spread with apple mixture and sprinkle with 2 cups sharp cheddar.
- With a long side of the dough facing you, roll the dough around the apple mixture. (You want the roll to be long.) Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least a half hour.
- Preheat your oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.
- Cut the roll into ½-inch slices and arranged pieces on the lined baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Email Me The Link
I’ll email this post to you, so you can easily find it later. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Did you try this recipe?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest and Instagram for more!
More Great Appetizer Recipes
Get social!
Recipes in your inbox
Think I would switch out the onion and herbs/spices to be apple pie spices and pecans. Drizzle with glaze to serve.
That sounds fabulous!
I just made these and they are awesome. I love that they can be made ahead and baked when it works. Not sure why others didn’t have them turn out, maybe they used too much cheese or the oven wasn’t hot enough. I baked them for 10 minutes and it was a perfect amount of time (my oven is hot). Thanks for sharing.
I am so glad you liked them! I just bought ingredients so I can make another batch during the holidays.
I made these ***exactly*** by the recipe. They were HORRIBLE! Even after baking on parchment for 30 minutes in a new high end convection oven, these were soggy and very greasy on the bottom and barely cooked on top. To experiment, I left four in the oven for a total of 45 minutes to no avail. There was no browning on top and the cheddar cheese leaked out of the bottoms of all of the pinwheels and burned on the ones I baked longest. My taste testers were “meh” on the flavor, but that’s personal preference. Sorry, back to the drawing board on this recipe.
I'm sorry that was your experience, I am not sure what could have gone wrong. They've worked out well for me and I've seen pictures from others who have made them as well. It's always disappointing when things don't work out like we'd like, especially on Thanksgiving!
These look so good.
thank you
Yay!!! Apple Week is here! Your pinwheels are a fun start. Off to view what the others have shared.
Hooray for appleweek!
Mine fell apart 🙁 I would maybe change your recipe to say to chop the apples super fine. Mine were so chuncky that everything fell apart in transit to baking sheet
Oh no! Chopping them very definitely helps. I'm sorry you had problems!
So bland. Looked cute. Will not make again.
I'm sorry you found them to be bland. They went over really well here. You could definitely amp them up with stronger cheese or a bit more spice if you'd like.