• ½ pound prepared puff pastry
• ¾ cup white granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 4 ea. ½-inch thick fresh or canned pineapple slices, tough inner core removed
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Pastry

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry into a square about ⅛-inch thick.
2. Using a 4-inch plate as a guide, or a cutter, cut our 4 disks of pastry.
3. If you are using a plate, cut the pastry with a rolling pizza cutter or the tip of a small sharp knife.
4. Transfer the cut pastry rounds to a baking sheet.
5. Pierce the pastry 6–8 times with the tines of a fork. The punctures will help prevent the dough from rising unevenly during baking.
6. Chill the pastry in the refrigerator while you prepare the sugar. The disks can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated for 1 day or frozen for up to a week.

Tart

7. Preheat the oven to 425 °F.
8. In a small, heavy-bottomed pan, dissolve the sugar with the water.
9. Cook the sugar over medium-high heat until caramelized. Do not stir the sugar as it cooks or it may recrystallize. Swirl the pan when the sugar begins to brown.
10. Carefully pour the caramelized sugar into four 4-inch (10-ounce) ramekins.
11. Place the pineapple slices in the ramekins on top of the caramel and season lightly with salt and pepper.
12. Lay a pastry disk on top of each pineapple and transfer the ramekins to a baking sheet.
13. Bake the tarts for 15–20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
14. Remove ramekins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
15. Holding the ramekins carefully with a cooking mitt, twist the puff pastry to loosen the tart, caramel, and pineapple together.
16. Carefully invert the ramekins to release the tarts onto individual serving plates.
17. Serve the tarts warm or at room temperature.