phyllopuff pastry dough

Serve these little spinach pies with a main course as your vegetable side and dinner roll in one, or eat a couple for a vegetarian dinner—they're that good.

Spinach Puffs Recipe

chopped spinach, thawed

feta

onion

olive oil

dill

garlic

salt and black pepper

black pepper

eggs

pastry

Epicurious

Using your hands, squeeze spinach until dry, forcing out as much water as possible (too much water will make for a soggy filling; you should have about 2/3 cup well-drained spinach). Mix spinach and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, beat 1 egg to blend; fold into spinach mixture.

Cut puff pastry into 3 equal strips. Reserve 1 strip for another use. Cut each remaining strip into 3 squares for a total of 6. Place a square in each muffin cup, pressing into bottom and up sides and leaving corners pointing up. Divide filling among cups. Fold pastry over filling, pressing corners together to meet in center. DO AHEAD: Spinach puffs can be assembled 3 hours ahead. Cover puffs and chill.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Beat remaining egg to blend in a small bowl. Brush pastry with egg wash (this will give the pastry a nice sheen). Bake until pastry is golden brown and puffed, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let puffs cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run a sharp paring knife around pan edges to loosen; turn out puffs onto rack to cool slightly before serving.

In this delicious baked Brie recipe, Brie is topped with sautéed apples and honey and wrapped in phyllo, then baked until gooey. The perfect holiday appetizer.

Apples-and-Honey Baked Brie

Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter

Honeycrisp apples,

honey

phyllo dough,

(16-ounce) wheel Brie cheese

I’m always trying to step up my apples-and-honey game. While a basic platter for dipping to sweeten the Jewish New Year is nice, I’m going more of the route of giant apples and honey cheese boards or savory-leaning tartes Tatin. This baked Brie is my latest, and most popular, Rosh Hashanah creation. It’s nothing fancy or complicated, simply a jumbo Brie wheel topped with sautéed apples and honey and wrapped in butter-brushed phyllo. But when baked, the combo of textures matched with the flavors of apples and honey fusing with gooey Brie never fails to please a crowd, and by crowd I mean my family of hungry vultures. You can keep things simple as is or add to this recipe as you please, tossing in some minced rosemary with the apples or swapping in hot honey for a little kick. Serve slices with a knife and fork or just throw it on the table with tons of crackers and crusty bread for scooping. I’m a big believer in reducing any stress in entertaining, especially around the holidays, so please don’t take your appetizers (or yourself) too seriously. Just enjoy the new year, and this new way to sweeten it!

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the apples and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the apples to a bowl and toss with the honey. Season with salt and pepper.In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter. On the prepared sheet pan, lay out 1 sheet of the phyllo dough and lightly brush it with melted butter to coat. Lay another sheet of phyllo on top, brush with butter, and repeat this process until you’ve layered all 6 sheets of phyllo. Place the Brie in the center and top it with the apple mixture. Fold the corners of the phyllo sheets toward the center of the Brie, overlapping them to seal, then brush with any remaining melted butter.

In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter. On the prepared sheet pan, lay out 1 sheet of the phyllo dough and lightly brush it with melted butter to coat. Lay another sheet of phyllo on top, brush with butter, and repeat this process until you’ve layered all 6 sheets of phyllo.

Place the Brie in the center and top it with the apple mixture. Fold the corners of the phyllo sheets toward the center of the Brie, overlapping them to seal, then brush with any remaining melted butter.

Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.

Chile-infused honey is a great foil for the rich and salty flavors of this tart. Serve any leftover honey over biscuits or fried chicken.

Butternut Squash Tart with Fried Sage

puff

butternut squash

kosher salt

Fresno, jalapeño, or red Thai chile

sage leaves

Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently roll out 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed (from a 17.3-ounce package) on a lightly floured surface to a 10" square (just enough to even out). Transfer to prepared sheet.

Brush pastry with 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water. Arrange twelve 1/8"-thick rounds peeled butternut squash (cut from squash's neck) over pastry, overlapping as needed and leaving a 1/2" border. Place another sheet of parchment paper over squash. Set another large rimmed baking sheet over the tart. (This will weigh down the pastry dough and steam the squash slices.)

Bake until bottom of pastry begins to brown and top begins to puff, about 10 minutes.

Remove top baking sheet and discard top sheet of parchment paper. Brush squash slices with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with kosher salt. Return tart, uncovered, to oven and bake until pastry is deep golden brown and cooked through, 25-30 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup honey, 1 thinly sliced Fresno, jalapeño, or red Thai chile, and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat (add another thinly sliced chile if more heat is desired). Boil until thickened slightly and syrupy, about 6 minutes.

Line a plate with paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet until just beginning to smoke. Add 12 fresh sage leaves; fry until crisp, about 30 seconds. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Slice tart. Arrange 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan on top; drizzle with chile-infused honey. Garnish with fried sage leaves and a few grinds of black pepper.

Give the cheesecake time to cool down before you slice it. The pastry will shatter, which is rather lovely, offering wisps of crispness with the soft, creamy cheesecake. This is lighter and less rich than most.

Ricotta Phyllo Cheesecake Recipe

butter

fillo pastry sheets

ricotta

Tbsp honey

cinnamon

granulated sugar

candied citrus peel

golden raisins

lemon

orange

Tbsp all-purpose flour

Vanilla extract

ground almonds

Tbsp chopped candied citrus peel

Confectioners' sugar

Ravishing, like a fairy in a vast taffeta ball gown. Give the cheesecake time to cool down before you slice it. The pastry will shatter, which is rather lovely, offering wisps of crispness with the soft, creamy cheesecake. This is lighter and less rich than most.

Set the oven at 350°F/180°C/Gas 4. Melt the butter in a small pan. Place a baking sheet in the oven. Line the tart tin with a double sheet of filo, letting it fall over the edges. Brush with some of the butter, then continue with all the sheets of filo, letting the pastry overhang the tin where necessary and generously brushing them with butter as you go.

Put the ricotta, eggs, egg yolks, honey, cinnamon and granulated sugar into the bowl of a food mixer and combine to a smooth cream. Fold in the candied peel, raisins, finely grated citrus zest, flour, a capful of vanilla extract and, lastly, the ground almonds. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the mixture into the lined tin, smooth flat, then gently fold the overhanging pastry sheets to the middle, curling them over as you go to make loose rosettes of pastry. Bake for forty to fifty minutes, until the pastry is crisp and the filling lightly firm to the touch.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Melt the honey in a small saucepan, stir in the candied peel, then spoon over the pastry. Dust with icing sugar and leave to cool before slicing.

Tarte Tatin

puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-ounce package)

(1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

sugar

apples

well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Roll pastry sheet into a 101/2-inch square on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Brush off excess flour and cut out a 10-inch round with a sharp knife, using a plate as a guide. Transfer round to a baking sheet and chill.

Spread butter thickly on bottom and side of skillet and pour sugar evenly over bottom. Arrange as many apples as will fit vertically on sugar, packing them tightly in concentric circles. Apples will stick up above rim of skillet.

Cook apples over moderately high heat, undisturbed, until juices are deep golden and bubbling, 18 to 25 minutes. (Don't worry if juices color unevenly.)

Put skillet in middle of oven over a piece of foil to catch any drips. Bake 20 minutes (apples will settle slightly), then remove from oven and lay pastry round over apples.

Bake tart until pastry is browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer skillet to a rack and cool at least 10 minutes.

Just before serving, invert a platter with lip over skillet and, using potholders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto platter. Replace any apples that stick to skillet. (Don't worry if there are black spots; they won't affect the flavor of the tart.) Brush any excess caramel from skillet over apples. Serve immediately.

Pastéis de nata (or Portuguese egg custard tarts) have a melt-in-the-mouth, fragile, flaky crust and a not-too-sweet custard that is caramelized in spots.

Pastéis de Nata

(600 g

unsalted butter

Sea salt

(600 ml or 20 fl. oz.) whole milk

vanilla

lemons

Confectioners' sugar,

cinnamon,

In 1982 Maria de Lourdes Modesto said the following of the pastel de nata in her essential cookbook Traditional Portuguese Cooking: “These pastries are probably the most important Portuguese specialty ever sold.” Almost four decades later they remain the ultimate national symbol of Portugal. Today’s pastéis de nata recipes are adaptations of the original that dates back to the 16th century, when they were made in monasteries and convents all over the country. These palm-size tarts have a melt-in-the-mouth, fragile, flaky crust and a not-too-sweet custard that is caramelized and darkened in spots. Locals visit their neighborhood pastry shops in search of the best-tasting pastel de nata. The cake pans used to bake these custard tarts are not the same as muffin pans—they are smaller and flatter. You can find them online, or use a 10-cm or 4" round cake pan that is 2 cm or ¾" high.

To make the puff pastry, put the flour into a mound on a work counter. Put 1 ¼ cups plus 2 teaspoons (320 ml or 11 fl. oz.) water into a jug or measuring cup and season with a pinch of salt. Make a small well in the middle of the flour and pour in the water. Start mixing the flour into the water to form a smooth dough, then cover with a dish towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the butter into three equal portions of 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (160 g or 5 ¾ oz.). Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on a work counter. Cut the first portion of butter into thin slices and lay these on the food wrap in a 20-cm or 8-inch square. Put a second piece of plastic wrap on top of the butter and use a rolling pin to flatten the butter into a thin 20-cm or 8-inch square sheet. Repeat with the remaining two portions of butter so that you have three sheets of butter. The butter needs to be cool but pliable when added to the dough, so chill the sheets and remove each one from the fridge only 5 minutes before using it.

Roll the dough out on a floured work counter into a 21-cm or 8 ½-inch square. Put a sheet of butter in the center of the dough, leaving a 5-mm or ¼-inch border. Fold the dough and butter in half by folding the top half down, then fold in half again by folding from left to right. Roll out into another 21-cm or 8 ½-inch square, then transfer to a baking sheet, cover and rest in the fridge for 25 minutes. Repeat with the remaining two sheets of butter. Rest the dough each time you add the butter.

When you have used up all the butter, roll the dough into a rectangle 32 x 20-cm or 13 x 8-inches. Roll the dough tightly into a cylinder, starting from the long edge. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

If using ready-made puff pastry, roll the pastry out to a rectangle 32 x 20-cm or 13 x 8-inches. Roll the pastry tightly into a cylinder, cover and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

To make the filling, put the sugar into a saucepan with 1 ⅓ cups (320 ml or 11 fl. oz.) water and heat over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat to medium and boil for 8-10 minutes until it reaches 241ºF on a thermometer.

Meanwhile, put the cornstarch, egg yolks, milk, vanilla bean and seeds, and lemon rind into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Once the sugar has reached temperature, remove the pan from the heat and whisk the syrup into the milk mixture. Mix well, then pour the mixture back into the pan and put over a low heat and cook for 4–5 minutes, or until it thickens. Remove and discard
the lemon rind and vanilla pod, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and leave to cool. Cover and chill until needed.

Using a sharp knife, cut slices from the dough cylinder, about 5-mm or ¼-inch thick, making a downwards cut and not slicing. Each portion should be about 25 g or 1 oz., but this will depend on the size of your pans or pan.

Have a bowl of cold water nearby. Arrange all the cake pans on several baking sheets and keep them in the fridge. One at a time, place a circle of pastry in the bottom of each pan, making sure the layers of butter are seen when viewed from above. This ensures the pastry will rise outwards and upwards as it bakes. Wet your thumb in the cold water and press the dough towards the outer edge of the pan, filling up to the rim. Repeat with all the pans, then put them back in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 475 F°.

Fill the lined pans with the filling, almost to the top. Bake in the oven for 13–15 minutes, or until the filling is almost set with browned spots on the top and the dough is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and dust with confectioners’ sugar and ground cinnamon. Serve warm or cold. These tarts are best eaten on the day they are made.

Using frozen puff pastry is the shortcut that makes this tart a new summer weeknight favorite recipe.

Tomato-Lemon Tart

puff pastry

garlic clove, finely grated

olive oil, divided,

basil leaves

tomatoes

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out puff pastry on a sheet of lightly floured parchment paper, smoothing out creases, to a large rectangle measuring about 15x10". Prick pastry in a few places with a fork, leaving a 1" border around the edges, then slide parchment paper onto a rimmed baking sheet.

Combine garlic and 1 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl and brush dough with garlic oil, staying within border. Arrange lemon slices in a single layer over brushed pastry, then scatter basil over lemon slices.

Arrange tomatoes on top (a little overlap is okay). Sprinkle with lots of salt and a few grinds of pepper, then drizzle with 1 Tbsp. oil.

Bake tart until edges of pastry are browned, puffed, and crisp, 30–35 minutes. Let tart cool 10 minutes before cutting into 8 pieces. Drizzle with more oil and top each with a dollop of crème fraîche.

Top 7 phyllopuff pastry dough recipes from across the web

The most viewed phyllopuff pastry dough recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Spinach Puffs Recipe

Apples-and-Honey Baked Brie

Butternut Squash Tart with Fried Sa...

Ricotta Phyllo Cheesecake Recipe

Tarte Tatin

Pastéis de Nata

Tomato-Lemon Tart

Top 7 phyllopuff pastry dough recipes from across the web

The most viewed phyllopuff pastry dough recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Spinach Puffs Recipe

Apples-and-Honey Baked Brie

Butternut Squash Tart with Fried Sa...

Ricotta Phyllo Cheesecake Recipe

Tarte Tatin

Pastéis de Nata

Tomato-Lemon Tart

The most viewed phyllopuff pastry dough recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine