So I found the original version of this recipe on one of those Facebook pages with the 2-minute video recipes set to some hip, snazzy music and lots of editing. It seemed pretty straight forward, so I figured why not and promptly ran to the store for supplies (this was also around 11pm…)

1. I decided to switch out pie crust for pastry dough. I like the texture more, and there’s less fat. Win win. I also used parchment paper to crate the cylinders that hold everything together – don’t use wax paper! I used a toothpick to keep the ends connected instead of a stapler and it worked just as well.
2. Cutting the rounds of the pastry dough was a breeze. I had plenty of dough left over, so naturally I made more later
3. Since I had to sauté the onions and knew they’d lose a bit of volume I cut them a bit thicker than normal. That with apples and sugar took no time to sauté. Looking back, I’d probably let it sauté for no more than a minute total, just to keep them a bit more crisp.
4. Putting the sauté mixture into the parchment cylinder was a bit trickier than I was expecting. I ended up using tongs and holding the parchment paper with the other hand while I slowly filled halfway. Not the easiest but it got done.
5. While everything was being cooked and assembled I left the cream cheese out so it softened. Honestly, I used the left over cream cheese mixture from the cucumber sandwiches – no point in wasting (plus it tasted really good). A quick dollop on each tart was more than enough
6. Top each of them with one of the pastry rounds and toss in the oven at 400° for 25 minutes.
7. After baking, I left them to cool for about 5 minutes (to let things thicken). Spatula them to serving plates then finally remove the parchment paper to display the “exposed tart” – because I didn’t know what else to call it.