Puff pastry snowflakes

This is a sponsored post by Challenge, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Christmas morning is the most magical morning of the year, and I think it's deserving of an extra special breakfast. I think using puff pastry is a great way to make really easy but impressive-looking recipes. 

I made puff pastry in culinary school, and it was a very long and tedious process. And you know what—I didn't think it tasted any different from store-bought puff pastry. So that's what I used to make these pastry snowflakes, and I really think they look beautiful. My husband also pointed out that the center looks like a cross—a good reminder of the real reason for the season.

The first step in making the snowflakes is to cut your puff pastry into 6 rectangles. I like to use a pizza cutter for this. Then use a paring knife to cut "L" shapes into the 4 corners of each of the rectangles. The cuts should be made about a half inch from the edge.

You can customize these snowflakes with whatever fillings you like. I made two different flavors: cherry and lemon cream cheese. For the cherry snowflakes, I just put a little cherry preserves in the center. Raspberry preserves would be really tasty too. 

The lemon cream cheese snowflakes were my favorite. They're sweet and tart at the same time. I sweetened Challenge cream cheese with a little powdered sugar and a little vanilla, and I spread that on the center of each pastry square. I only use Challenge brand cream cheese because it's rich and tangy with no greasy aftertaste. Also, their products are 100% natural, without the use of the synthetic hormone rBST. After spreading the cream cheese, I added a tablespoon of lemon curd on top. I happened to have homemade lemon curd, but you could also use store-bought lemon curd. And if you don't have lemon curd, just add a little lemon juice and lemon zest to the cream cheese mixture. It will still be really tasty.

Once your filling is in the center, fold each of the 4 corners to the center. It should look like a bow. Then brush each of the pastry squares with egg wash. This will make the pastries shiny and golden brown.

After the pastries finish baking, dust them with powdered sugar for a finishing touch!

Puff Pastry Cherry Snowflakes

Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (Wewalka is my favorite because it's refrigerated, not frozen)
• 6 Tablespoons of cherry preserves
• Egg wash (1 egg + 1 Tablespoon water, mixed together)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cut sheet of puff pastry into 6 equal pieces
3. Cut "L" shape into the 4 corners of each puff pastry piece 
4. Add 1 Tablespoon of cherry preserves to center of each puff pastry square
5. Fold the outer corners of each puff pastry square to the center
6. Brush edges of puff pastry with egg wash 
7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until puff pastry starts to turn golden brown
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar

Lemon Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Snowflakes

Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 4 ounces Challenge cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 /2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 Tablespoons of Lemon curd
• Egg wash (1 egg + 1 Tablespoon water, mixed together)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cut sheet of puff pastry into 6 equal pieces
3. Cut "L" shape into the 4 corners of each puff pastry piece 
4. Mix cream cheese and vanilla extract together and spread onto each of the puff pastry squares
5. Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon curd to center of cream cheese mixture
6. Fold the outer corners of each puff pastry square to the center
7. Brush edges of puff pastry with egg wash 
8. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until puff pastry turns golden brown
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar