Instructions: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk to combine sugar with 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Without stirring, cook mixture until dark amber in color, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour 1 tablespoon of caramel into the bottom of a standard 10 1/2- by 13 1/2-inch muffin tin. Add 1 teaspoon of butter to each muffin cup. Set aside.

Combine cranberries and walnuts in a small bowl. Peel apples and core from the bottom leaving the stems intact. Using a teaspoon, fill an apples center with cranberry mixture; repeat with remaining apples. Place apples stem-side down into caramel.

Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry to a 12-inch square. Using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out twelve circles.

Place puff-pastry circles over apples, tucking pastry around apples. Bake at 375 degrees until pastry is golden brown and puffed, 30 to 35 minutes.

Turn out immediately onto a baking sheet lined with a Silpat. Serve immediately.

This recipe yields 12 servings.

Comments: The lady apple, similar in appearance to a scaled-down version of a McIntosh or Cortland, was valued during the colonial era as a decorative element for wreaths, garlands, and Christmas trees. But its flavor perfectly balances an overall sweetness with a strong hint of tartness-ideal for these individual caramelized upside-down tarts.

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