I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

puff pastry

Guava and Cream Cheese Turnovers (Guava Pastelillos)

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I don’t really know what to write about with today’s recipe. I just can’t form a real thought about what to write about.

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So here is just a random list of things going on…

I put a gold safety pin decal on my car. It make me happy. (reason why, etsy store)

Autumn wanted a swing, so my dad hung up one from his balcony so Autumn can swing from it in the foyer. Grandparents can do crazy crap like that at their houses. ha!

We have purple Christmas lights up. They also make me happy.

I have been making egg sandwiches every day for breakfast. My version of an egg mcmuffin. I have been eating them for dinner too. The toaster and microwave are my friends. I have sorta given up on cooking real food.

But I do want to make a lasagna this weekend. Maybe.

They are going to start the drywall on our house this week. HELL YA!

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These little Guava Pastelillo are addicting.

I wanted to make a fun treat for this week’s latest Taco Tuesday post.

I have a long list of things I want to make before the end of the year wraps things up on this series but I have been scattered. Like a kid in a candy shop. So many options! At the last minute I picked these delicious pillowy puffs.

I’m not sure if I’d call them a breakfast food since I could eat them 24/7.

I just love the combination of guava and cheese. It’s a traditional sweet and salty combo that just works so well together. I featured it last year in my Waffle Wednesday series as well when I made Guava and Chream Cheese Stuffed Puffle Waffles. Both are easy to make and both are so damn delicious.

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Be sure to take a big bite and savor the sweetness of the guava paste and the subtle tartness from the cream cheese. They are fantastic with a cup of coffee. Just be sure to wipe away the crumbs so you are not caught sneaking another one while you are in the kitchen. ha!

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Guava and Cream Cheese Turnovers (Guava Pastelillos)

Makes 16 puffs

Ingredients

  • 1 package Puff Pastry sheets
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 Cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • approx 6 oz.  Guava Paste
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Remove the puff pastry from the freezer to thaw according to package instructions.
  3. Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl. Mix well.
  4. Slice the guava paste into 1/4″ thick slices that are approx 1″ x 1 1/2″ in size. You need 16 slices.
  5. On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry sheets so they are approx 12″ x 12″. Slice them in half in 1 direction and then in 4 in another, creating 8 pieces with each sheet.
  6. Assemble the turn turnovers by placing a piece of guava paste on one half of the rectangle, while leaving a 1/2″ edge around the paste for sealing. Add a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture on top of the guava paste. Fold the other half of the puff pastry dough over and seal the 3 open edges with a fork. Repeat with the remaining turnovers. ( I suggest doing both sheets at the same time so you can evenly portion out the cream cheese mixture among the puffs)
  7. Coat the top of the puffs with the egg wash mixture. Then sprinkle with sugar.
  8. Arrange the puffs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minute or until golden brown and puffy.
  9. Cool the turnovers on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

Bring on the Puffle!!!!! The Epic Puffle!!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

I am devoting the month of August to the Puffle for my yummy #WaffleWednesday posts.

What’s a puffle?!!?!

It’s a stuffed waffle that is made with puff pastry. YEP!!

It is crunchy, buttery, sweet, and damn delicious.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

It actually reminds me of a Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. Oh man, those are the jam. They were my favorite breakfast treat. And it was such a treat to have them in the house. They were pretty pricey for a weekday breakfast that was basically junk food. But they are so good. Did you do designs on your pastry with that teeny tiny icing packet? Or spread it evenly all over the top? I would spread the icing evenly so I knew every bite would have some yummy icing. Bliss.

Well, I swear that these puffles will remind you of them and they will zap you right back to your childhood as you stared at the toaster willing it to pop out faster.

Puffles are so easy to make! I love it.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

They do take some time to plan for as you have to let the puff pastry dough come to room temperature. The package that I used took about 40 minutes. But that’s not to bad… get up, yank it out of the freezer and slap it on the counter, start your coffee maker, take the dog out, flip on the news and enjoy a cup of coffee. Ta-da! It’s ready!!!

From there, it’s so easy. It’s even so nice that you don’t mess up bowls and such, like when you make a normal waffle batter.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

The peanut butter and jelly is a fun filling. It’s a classic combo. The saltiness from the peanut butter just goes so well with the sweetness of the jelly.

I suggest using a creamy peanut butter and a great jam. You deserve it. I used the delightful Blueberry Ginger Conserve from Nervous Nellies Jams and Jellies from Maine. It’s a super cute shop to visit and their jams and chutneys are incredible. I highly suggest ordering some. At the least, pick your favorite jam to use in this puffle.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

You’ll love the puffle. It’s a breakfast game changer.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

Peanut Butter and Jelly Puffle Waffle

Makes 8 waffles

Ingredients

  • 1- 17.5 ounce package of puff pastry (preferably all-butter)
  • 1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 Cup jelly/jam
  • to serve: powdered sugar, maple syrup

Process

  1. Thaw the puff pastry according to the instructions on the box. (Typically 40 minutes at room temperature prior to use)
  2. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface to be 12″ x 12″. Work the dough to eliminate the seams.
  3. Cut the dough into 4 equal sized pieces. Score each piece in half.
  4. Leaving 1/2″ boarder, spread 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter of half of each piece. Spread a heaping tablespoon of jelly on top of the peanut butter.
  5. Fold the other half of the puff pastry over the filling.
  6. Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry dough to make the other 4 puffles.
  7. Preheat your waffle iron at this point. Place the puffle dough on the waffle iron. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.
  8. Gently remove, serve with powdered sugar or maple syrup, and enjoy!!

Adapted from epicurious

Individual Apple Pie Tarts

One of my favorite things to do is rip out all the recipes in magazine that I think I would enjoy making. There is a big difference tween the ‘ooo this looks good’ recipe to the ‘I need to make this one day/right now’ recipe. Then I trim my recipes pages up and file them stack them all up so I can go through them and pick out things to make. Well, I recently came across a recipe of Individual Plum Tarts from my Rachael Ray magazine.

 

 

I made Individual Apple Pie Tarts by swapping out the plums for apples and adding some typical spices used in apple pies. These are easy with a capital E! The puff pastry does most of the work for you and you just need to dice up some apples and quickly mix with the sugar and spices. The important thing is to have a non stick sheet or one that is coated with non stick cooking spray so the puff pastry doesn’t stick. The rest is a breeze! And you’ll end up with really yummy little apple pie tarts!

Individual Apple Pie Tarts

Makes 6

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet of puffed pastry, 1/2 pound
  • 3 cups of finely diced baking apples (approximately 3 apples)
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of ground nutmeg
  • butter

Process

  1. Let puff pastry thaw according to package’s instructions.
  2. While the puff pastry is thawing, peel, core and finely dice the apples. In the bowl, combine the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  3. Unfold the puff pastry and cut along the 2 seams to get 3 strips, then cut those in half to get 6 rectangles.
  4. Lay the rectangles out on a greased non-stick baking sheet, add 1/2 cup of the apple mixture to each rectangle keeping a 1/2″ border around the edges clean of apples. Add 2 tiny pieces of butter to the mound of apples.
  5. In a 375 degree oven, bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Ice cream or caramel sauce are great additions when serving.