American as it may be, the price of apple pie at a restaurant is a steep one to pay. For that matter, so, too, is the one we pay at Grandma's house when she serves us a warm slice à la mode. But to ditch the dessert over caloric concerns would be downright unpatriotic, so instead we solved apple pie's biggest nutritional setback—serving size—by wrapping up neat little packets of sweetened, spiced apple chunks in flaky puff pastry. The result is a perfectly portioned individual turnover with fewer calories than you'd get from two bites of Cheesecake Factory's Warm Apple Crisp.

Nutrition: 200 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated), 32 g carbohydrates

Serves 4

You'll Need

Flour
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted
1 cup water
1⁄2 cup sugar
3 Granny Smith apples
1⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon
1⁄8 tsp ground ginger
1⁄8 tsp ground nutmeg
Juice of 1 lemon
1 egg white, lightly beaten

How to Make It

Generously flour a working surface. Roll the puff pastry into a 9" x 15" rectangle.
Cut the pastry into 6 equal squares. Refrigerate until needed.
Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan.
Peel and core the apples; cut into 1⁄2" chunks.
Toss the apples with the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and lemon juice, then add to the sugar mixture and simmer until the liquid thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
When the apple mixture cools, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of apples onto the puff pastry squares, off center.
Fold the pastry over the apple filling to make a triangle and seal the perimeter by pinching the edges or pressing the tines of a fork into the dough.
Place the turnovers on a baking sheet and brush with the egg white. Bake until the dough is crispy and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Eat This Tip

Puff pastry—made mostly with butter and flour—isn't exactly light fare. But if you roll out a sheet until thin and cut it into six squares, you have a 150-calorie wrap that you can use to house a variety of sweet and savory combinations. Swap out the chunky apple filling for any of the following: