If you are looking for a quick and scenic idea to add to your Christmas appetizers, this Christmas tree made with savory puff pastry pinwheels could be perfect for you. The Christmas appetizer with puff pastry pinwheels is a very simple yet impressive solution, customizable 100%: you just need to fill the puff pastry pinwheels with the ingredients you prefer or that best suit your menu. I suggest two options: salmon and goat cheese for the Christmas Eve dinner and ricotta and mortadella for the Christmas lunch, but at the end of the recipe, I’ll leave you with many other ideas.
To decorate your Christmas appetizer with puff pastry pinwheels you’ll need just a few simple things: a Christmas plate or a round cutting board for the base; a sprig of rosemary to simulate the tree branches; a few pink peppercorns to evoke holly berries. The pinwheels will then be stacked on top of each other, forming a kind of pyramid, creating a three-dimensional Christmas tree that you can also use as an edible Christmas centerpiece!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for 1 large Christmas Tree of Pinwheels
If you are celiac, you can make the recipe using gluten-free puff pastry; if you can’t find rectangular ones, you can also use round ones: the pinwheels you obtain from the two ends will be a bit smaller but still tasty. Remember that the mortadella must have the label ‘gluten-free.’
- 1 roll puff pastry (rectangular)
- 100 g ricotta (cow's milk)
- 100 g mortadella (thinly sliced)
- 1 roll puff pastry (rectangular)
- 100 g goat cheese (or other spreadable cheese)
- 100 g smoked salmon (sliced)
- 1 egg
- to taste sesame seeds
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- to taste pink peppercorns
Tools
- 1 Knife sharp, smooth blade
- 2 Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- 2 Small bowls
- 1 Brush
- 1 Cutting board round
How to Prepare Puff Pastry Pinwheels in the Shape of a Christmas Tree
Preparing the Christmas appetizer with puff pastry pinwheels is really easy and quick. Let’s start with the mortadella pinwheels: unroll the rectangular puff pastry and spread it with the ricotta (1). Place the slices of mortadella on top (2). Roll the puff pastry up on itself, starting from the shorter side (3).
Form a roll and press firmly to compact it (4). Wrap it in parchment paper – you can use the one from the package – and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. In this way, it will be more compact and easier to cut.
In the same way, for the salmon pinwheels, spread the other roll of puff pastry with the goat cheese and overlay it with slices of smoked salmon (5). Roll it up, starting from the short side, and place the roll in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
After the resting time, get a sharp knife with a smooth blade. Remove the parchment paper from the two rolls and cut them into slices about 1 cm thick (6). If the wheels become slightly deformed when cutting, you can reshape them into a round shape with your hands.
Now if you want, you can decorate the puff pastry pinwheels with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, chopped nuts, etc. In this case, beat an egg in a small bowl; in another, pour a couple of tablespoons of sesame seeds. Brush the outer edges of the pinwheels with the egg (7) and briefly dip them in the sesame seeds to make them adhere (8).
As your savory pinwheels are ready, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them a few cm apart (9). With two rolls of puff pastry, you’ll get about 24 pinwheels, so you’ll probably have to bake them on two separate sheets. In this case, I suggest baking one sheet at a time.
Bake the puff pastry pinwheels in the preheated oven at 392°F (static) until they are puffed and slightly golden (10). Let them cool slightly before removing them from the tray.
Then proceed to plate your Christmas tree pinwheels: take a plate or round cutting board and place a first layer of pinwheels, forming a circular base. Form a second circular layer, smaller than the first, then a third even smaller, and finally place a pinwheel on top.
Detach small tufts of rosemary from the sprig and place one on the top of the tree, with the others scattered here and there. Finally, decorate the pinwheels here and there with pink peppercorns (11).
Your Christmas appetizer with puff pastry pinwheels is ready! You can serve it either warm or cold, and it’s a fun and low-effort idea to decorate your holiday table.
Storage
If any are left over, you can store the puff pastry pinwheels in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Tips and Variants
As mentioned, this Christmas appetizer with puff pastry pinwheels is extremely customizable. Instead of ricotta or goat cheese, you can use Philadelphia, robiola, or stracchino. Mortadella and salmon can be replaced with speck, cooked ham, rolled bacon, salami, tuna in oil, grilled vegetables, spinach… Just be careful not to overfill the puff pastry, otherwise, when you roll and cut it, the filling may come out.
