Puff Pastry Blackberry Hand Pies

You know the drill. Find a few ingredients in your pantry/freezer and a new dessert is born. You can certainly use your favorite fruit in these but I had some beautiful blackberries that were begging to be eaten. Adjust the sugar to your liking, depending on your fruit. I think berries tend to need a little more but it's your call, of course. Anyway, these are really simple to throw together. And don't worry if your little pies leak a little juice. I like to call that "rustic". These are fun to throw in a sack lunch, too!
Puff Pastry Blackberry Hand Pies



1 package puff pastry~ thawed
1/3 - 1/2 cups sugar (depending on your sweetness level)
2 cups blackberries ~ frozen or fresh
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large egg
Sparkling sugar (found in the baking aisle at the grocery store)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add blackberries and toss.

 Beat egg in a small bowl. Set aside.

Roll each of sheet puff pastry into an 11-inch square on a lightly floured surface.

Cut 4 5-inch circles circles out of each sheet of pastry. (I used a small bowl and cut around it)

Place pastry rounds on prepared sheet and put about 1/4 cup berry mixture onto one-half of each round.

Lightly brush edge of circle with egg.

Fold dough over filling and crimp edges with a fork to tightly seal.

Cut a couple of small slits on top of dough to vent. Repeat with remaining pastry and berry mixture.

Brush pies with remaining egg. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

Bake 20 - 30  minutes until golden brown.

Transfer to wire rack to cool slightly.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Let's get started.

Stir together your sugar and cornstarch.

Sprinkle that over the berries and stir.

Roll out your puff pastry a little bit 

so you can get 4 5-inch circles out of each piece.

Then place some berries on each

circle and brush half with the beaten egg.

Fold over and crimp the edges to seal. 

Some of the juice might leak out and that's OK!

Place the little pies on a baking sheet 

and brush with the remaining beaten egg.

Then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake!

Look how pretty! And yummy, too!

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls

Since cinnamon rolls are always a welcome treat around here and I don't always have the time to put into them, this little recipe was perfect. It didn't make a lot....only 12...but that's okay. They lasted a couple of days and were great reheated. Fast and easy....and a really yummy treat!

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls



1 sheet puff pastry ~ thawed
1 stick butter ~ softened
1 cup brown sugar ~ divided use
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans ~ divided use
1/4 cup melted butter
Sprinkling of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

Cream together the 1 stick of butter, cinnamon and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar in a mixing bowl. 

Place a teaspoon of the butter/brown sugar mixture into each muffin cup.

Sprinkle with 1/2 chopped pecans.

Unroll puff pastry onto a floured surface and stretch it out just a little bit.

Brush with 1/4 cup melted butter. 

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Roll puff pastry up starting at the longer end.

Slice into 12 pieces and place on top of pecans in muffin cup.

Bake for 30 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

Turn out onto a platter, removing any of the pecan mixture left in the pan.

The line up.

Combine 1/2 cup of the butter, 1/2 cup 

of the brown sugar and the 2 teaspoons 

of cinnamon in a bowl.

Then drop by spoonfuls into your 

prepared muffin cups. The sprinkle 

with 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Unroll the puff pastry and stretch it 

out a bit then schmear it with 1/4 cup 

of the butter, and the remaining brown 

sugar and pecans. Sprinkle with some cinnamon.

Roll up the dough.

Slice into 12 pieces.

Place in the muffin cups.

Then bake.

Flip out onto a platter and revel in 

the ooey gooey stickiness! So good!!!

Cream Puff Cake

Who doesn’t love cream puffs? I think cream puffs are fairly simple to make, but a little time consuming. My mom gave me this recipe years ago and we never get tired of it! This recipe gives you the exact same taste of a cream puff but with a lot less work. Cut them into smallish pieces….they’re rich!!


Cream Puff Cake

 


Pate a choux pastry (or cream puff dough):

1 cup water
½ cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and butter to a boil over medium heat. Add flour all at once and turn heat to low. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together and pulls away from the sides of pan. Remove from heat and add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each egg. Press dough in the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of an ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove and cool completely.

Cream filling:

1 8-ounce container of Cool Whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 large package instant vanilla pudding
2 cups whole milk

Mix pudding and whole milk together. Add Cool Whip and sweetened condensed milk to pudding mixture and mix well with a whisk.

Heat 1 cup hot fudge topping. (I prefer Mrs. Richardson’s) Drizzle half of the fudge topping over baked dough.

Pour cream filling over dough and fudge topping. Let set in fridge for about 20 minutes then drizzle with the other half of the fudge topping. Let set for several hours and top with whipped cream. Garnish with chocolate shavings, if desired.

Our ingredients

Pate a choux unbaked

Pate a choux baked and puffed

All of our ingredients mixed together 

to make the Cream Puff Cake

A piece cut and ready to eat!

I've never made Beef Wellington but if it were as easy as this did, I'd try it. I can't bring myself to call this Pork Wellington because that just sounds wrong. This was so great! I had a seasoned pork loin in my freezer and I also had some puff pastry...so it only seemed right to make this. If you want an impressive main dish without a lot of fuss, then this is perfect for you. So tasty and so easy!

Pork Tenderloin in Puff Pastry

 

1 2-pound pork tenderloin

1 sheet puff pastry

1 onion - sliced

2 cloves garlic - minced

1 cup chicken stock

salt and pepper

Olive oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 egg - beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat some olive oil ( a few glugs) and the butter over medium heat. Brown the tenderloin for a few minutes on each side until golden. Remove to plate.

In the same large skillet, add the onion and garlic and saute until tender. Then add the chicken stock and salt and pepper. Cook until liquid has evaporated.

On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about 11 x 16.

Place the onion mixture down the center of pastry then place the meat on top of the onion.

Brush all edges of the puff pastry with the beaten egg.

Wrap the meat and onion in the puff pastry and seal all edges.

Place onto a parchment paper lined and rimmed baking sheet and brush all over with the beaten egg.

Bake for about an hour until puff pastry is golden brown and internal temperature is 150 degrees. Let stand about 15 minutes before slicing.

The line up. I used a pre-seasoned 

tenderloin but of course you don't have to do that.

Drizzle some olive oil in a large 

skillet then throw in the butter.

Brown the meat on all sides.

Remove the meat to a plate then 

throw the onions and garlic in the pan.

Let them get all tender then pour 

in the chicken stock and salt and pepper. 

Allow it to simmer until.....

...all the liquid has evaporated. 

Like this.

Roll out the puff pastry....

..then lay the onion mixture 

right down the center.

Place the meat on top and 

brush the edges with the beaten egg.

Fold up the sides and edges.

Then place it seam side down 

on a lined baking sheet. 

Brush all over with beaten egg. 

Bake!

Allow to sit for about 15 

minutes before slicing.

Oh yeah...yummmmm!!!

As I am known to do, I didn't want to leave the house the other day, and since I was gone the previous weekend, the cupboards were a little bare when it came to things to make for dinner. So...it was a treasure hunt in the freezer! Can I just say....yummy? What a nice surprise this turned out to be! I usually reserve puff pastry for desserts, but this time I incorporated it into the main meal and I loved it! Very easy! Since smoked sausage is already cooked, it's just a matter of browning the pastry so it was a quick meal as well as delicious!

Smoked Sausage in Puff Pastry



1 pound smoked Sausage
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 onion, sliced and caramelized
2 eggs, beaten

Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 c. brown or white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat over to 375 degrees. Place parchment paper on a rimmed cookie sheet.

Roll puff pastry out into a 10 x 14 inch rectangle.

Cut into 6 equal square pieces.

Cut sausage into 6 equal pieces.

Combine sauce ingredients in small mixing bowl.

Lay one piece of sausage and some of the onion on a piece of pastry. Spoon a tablespoon of sauce over sausage.

Paint the edges of the pastry with the egg and fold to seal. Brush the pastry all over with the egg.

Place sealed pastry onto the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until pastry is brown.

Serve with extra sauce or regular barbeque sauce.

Here's what you'll need. Oh...and two eggs.

Mix up the stuff for the sauce and set it aside.

Caramelize the onion and set those aside.

Roll out the pastry a little larger than the original size. Mine was probably 10 x 15 or so. Then cut it into 6 equal pieces.

Cut the sausage into 6 equal pieces. Brush each piece around the edges with the beaten egg. Then lay a piece of sausage, a spoonful of sauce and some onion on top of a piece of pastry and fold it up.

Then brush each bundle all over with more beaten egg.

Then bake!

So yummy!!! Loved these so much.