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