If you are looking for an intriguing idea for Christmas appetizers, the Christmas puff pastry trees with salmon are the perfect recipe: simple, quick, and scenic. Just three ingredients – puff pastry, cream cheese, and smoked salmon – are enough to transform a classic combination into an irresistible Christmas snack, ideal for enriching the holiday buffet or for bringing an elegant appetizer to the table without stress.
Puff pastry is the true wildcard of quick Christmas recipes because it allows you to create appetizers that are beautiful and always highly appreciated in just a few minutes. These puff pastry trees, reminiscent of the most beloved holiday symbols, are a simple way to add a decorative touch to the menu. A few years ago, I had prepared the Christmas tree of puff pastry rolls, which had wowed everyone; this year, I decided to go for these single-serving versions, even more practical and versatile.
Skewered on a wooden stick, they can also become edible Christmas place cards: just apply a small sticker with the guest’s name on the stick. And the preparation is so easy that you can involve the kids: a fun way to have them participate in the Christmas table preparations.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 11 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
- Energy 161.55 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 9.65 (g) of which sugars 0.31 (g)
- Proteins 6.57 (g)
- Fat 10.74 (g) of which saturated 1.29 (g)of which unsaturated 6.78 (g)
- Fibers 0.39 (g)
- Sodium 302.39 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 1 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 11 Puff Pastry Trees with Salmon
If you are gluten intolerant, you can make the salmon trees using ready-made gluten-free puff pastry, also round.
- 1 sheet puff pastry (rectangular)
- 3.5 oz stracchino cheese (or other spreadable cheese)
- 5.3 oz smoked salmon
- to taste pink peppercorns (optional, for decoration)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Knife
- 11 Skewers long
- 1 Baking Tray
- Parchment Paper
How to Prepare Christmas Place Card Puff Pastry Trees with Salmon
To prepare the Christmas puff pastry trees with salmon, start by unrolling the puff pastry on the work surface. Position it horizontally, then use a knife to spread the cream cheese on top (1). I used stracchino cheese, but robiola, Philadelphia, ricotta, or goat cheese would also work. Form a thin layer, reaching almost to the edges (2). Arrange the smoked salmon slices on top (3).
Do not overfill the puff pastry, or you’ll have difficulty folding it into Christmas trees. Use a knife to cut vertical strips approximately 0.5 inch wide or slightly wider (4). You’ll need to make 13 strips (5). Carefully remove one strip at a time and lay it horizontally in front of you. Take one end and fold it onto itself for a few inches: this will be the wider base of your tree (6).
Then take the other end and fold it onto itself (7) to cover almost the entire previously folded part. Continue folding the puff pastry strip accordion-style, reducing the length of the fold as you go up (8). The goal is to form a kind of triangle (9).
Use a wooden skewer to pierce it from the bottom (10). Continue in the same manner with another 10 strips. You will have 2 strips left: If you wish, you can also form trees with these (making 13 in total), or you can use them to create small stars to add to the top of the already-formed trees (you will then have a total of 11). In that case, overlap the remaining two strips, so the filling stays inside (11). Press firmly to seal them (12).
Use a knife to cut 11 squares from the strip (13). Gently press the edges with your fingertips to both seal them and give them a shape that vaguely resembles a star (14). Place them on the tip of each tree, skewering them onto the wooden stick (15).
Repeat the process with the remaining trees (16). Line a baking tray with parchment paper and arrange your puff pastry trees next to each other, leaving enough space so that they don’t stick together as they puff up during baking (17). Bake them in a preheated oven at 392°F (static) for 15-20 minutes, until they are puffed and golden (18).
Let them cool slightly before removing them from the tray. If desired, you can decorate them with pink peppercorns to simulate ornaments. Serve the Christmas puff pastry trees with salmon as an appetizer or snack for an aperitif.
Storage
You can store the puff pastry trees in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Tips and Variations
With the same process, you can prepare puff pastry place card trees with different fillings: instead of salmon, you can use cooked ham, salami, mortadella, speck, turkey slices… The spreadable cheese can be replaced with olive paté, Genoese pesto, cooked ham mousse, tomato sauce, mushroom sauce.
