Weekend days such as this. Lazy, chilly, no-where-to-go days.
For me, there is nothing more lovely than spending a day at home with my family.
We sleep in a bit. We cook a big breakfast. We often stay in our jammies and slippers way past noon. We watch movies and play games.
And, sometimes nap. (Did I mention how much I love the weekends?)
There's usually a big pot of something simmering away on the stove ... or something cooking in the slow cooker and filling the house with insane smells of deliciousness.
Oh, and it's often a day that we spend time in the kitchen together (which I adore).
My girls and I were inspired to do something with the puff pastry we had in the freezer. (They especially love helping me with recipes that they know will end up on my blog ... makes them feel a part of what I do!)
Puff pastry is super simple to work with. Don't be afraid of it. And, although we made these today just to munch on here at home for ourselves, these would really wow at a party!
We used Smucker's Orchard's Finest Michigan Red Tart Cherry Preserves (any preserve/jam would work). I discovered this jam a few weeks ago and oh, baby, this stuff is divine! I could eat it by the spoonful!
Puff Pastry Twists with Tart Cherry Preserves
Ingredients:
1 puff pastry dough, thawed (but still cold)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 - 3/4 cup preserves
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions:
Lay out the sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface. Roll out dough into a 9 x 13 rectangle.
Cut dough in half between the two original seams using a pizza cutter or knife.
Beat together the egg and water to form an egg wash. Brush one of the dough pieces with the egg. On the other dough piece, spread the jam evenly across the dough leaving room at the edges. I went a little too close to the edges and some leaked out, so just pretend that the photo below shows the correct way. (wink!) Sprinkle on one tablespoon of the brown sugar.
Next, place the other dough piece (egg-side down) on top of the jam side. Press gently together (not too hard or the filling will all leak out) and seal edges a bit with your fingers. (Yes, my preserves leaked a bit ... see confession above about spreading jam too close to the edges!) Cut into strips with a pizza cutter (you should get 7 - 9 strips).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Working one at a time, gently twist each strip and lay on baking sheet making sure to press down the ends so that they don’t curl. When all of the strips have been twisted and placed on the baking sheet, lightly brush each twist with a little more egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar.
Bake on middle rack for 11 - 13 minutes or until twists are lightly browned.
(Yes, they may ooze a bit while baking, but that's okay!)
Remove from pan and allow to cool a bit on a cooling rack. These are best served the same day, but can be stored in an air-tight container for up to three days.
Pastry stuck to the parchment paper, so I had to scrape the strips up and by then the dough was too warm to do anything with it. There was no way I could twist each strip. Just baked it flat.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that you had issues. Sometimes when working with puff pastry, I find that I need to pop the tray into the freezer or fridge as I go along once or twice if the humidity or temp in my kitchen is on the high side. (Just maybe for a few minutes until the dough chills up a bit again.) That should help. But I make these for parties often (this sweet version and also a cheesy savory version), so I know the recipe does work successfully. So just making sure your dough stays cold along the way really helps. :)
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