When it comes to no-fuss appetizers that look like you spent hours in the kitchen, frozen sheets of puff pastry are your secret weapon. Here's how it works: thaw, cut, fill, bake, serve. Talk about effortless elegance.
Puff pastry consists of hundreds of paper-thin layers of dough and butter. In the heat of the oven, these layers puff to impressive heights, becoming crispy and golden.
Making puff pastry from scratch isn't terribly hard, but it does require a significant time commitment. Frozen puff pastry from the store is a convenient alternative and arguably just as good. Look for puff pastry made with all butter; these will be the tastiest. I love Trader Joe's brand, but Pepperidge Farm will do in a pinch (though the latter does contain some shortening).
Once thawed, a square of puff pastry presents a lot of possibilities. You can cut it into strips to make cheese straws, make cups to later fill with an hors d'oeuvres, top it to make a quick tart, or fold squares of it to make turnovers. You can go sweet or savory, warm or cold. Puff pastry is endlessly accommodating.
Here are a few ideas to inspire your next dinner party:
• How to Work with Frozen Puff Pastry
• How to Braid Puff Pastry
• Puff Pastry Cheese Straws
• Pistachio and Chive Goat Cheese on Puff Wafers
• Three Cheese Tomato Tart
• Melt in Your Mouth: 5 Nibbles with Puff Pastry
• Petite Palmiers
What's your favorite recipe to make with puff pastry?
Related: The Kitchn's Top 10 Tips for More Successful Baking
(Image: Tobik/Shutterstock)
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I always make Cheeseburger Roulade (like a hamburger version of pigs in a blanket) as an appetizer any time I have a lot of people over at my apartment, especially for the Super Bowl. It works as a meal too. It's super easy to make with frozen puff pastry, easily adaptable to whatever ingredients I have on hand (only using beef instead of a meat mixture, using whatever cheese is in the fridge, etc) and people go totally bonkers for it.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/cheeseburger-roulades-recipe/index.html
I'm not crazy about the flavor of the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry (the only kind available here), but it sure is handy--you can spread it with something, roll it up, slice it, and bake it, and you've got a super-quick appetizer. I've also used it to make baked samosas, which were a big hit.
I love making cheese straws and palmiers, you can make so many varieties! Use whatever you have on hand and they always turn out well! Puff pastry is a staple in my freezer.
I love frozen puff pastry, it makes everything SO easy. Cut it into a little part shape and add some onions, cheese, and a bit of olive oil for a delicious savory tart, or wrap it around a sausage and get a no-effort sausage roll, or just bake it and add a bit of jam and cream cheese. Mmmmm.
frozen puff pastry is a great topper for pot pies.