🌲 Savory Puff Pastry Pinwheel Tree (Egg-Free)
A Christmas appetizer that’s beautiful to look at and incredibly easy to make!
These puff pastry pinwheels form a delicious Christmas tree, perfect for sharing with friends and family.
The holidays are the perfect occasion to bring to the table recipes that are not only tasty but also beautiful to look at!
The savory puff pastry pinwheel tree is the ideal appetizer to impress your guests: super easy to make, ready in under half an hour, and egg-free.
Simply unroll the puff pastry, fill it with your favorite ingredients, roll it up, and bake. The result? A golden, crispy, and super scenic little tree to share during your Christmas aperitif or dinner.
And the best part is, you can customize it with your preferred fillings: ham and cheese, vegetables, pesto, or even vegetarian versions.
Also try these Christmas appetizers:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 20 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, New Year's Eve
- Energy 154.28 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 10.13 (g) of which sugars 0.62 (g)
- Proteins 4.26 (g)
- Fat 10.83 (g) of which saturated 2.60 (g)of which unsaturated 7.55 (g)
- Fibers 0.47 (g)
- Sodium 210.14 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 35 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 the Savory Puff Pastry Pinwheel Tree (Egg-Free):
for about 20 pinwheels
- 2 rolls puff pastry
- 5.29 oz cooked ham
- 5.29 oz cheese (scamorza, edamer, etc)
- milk (for brushing)
- sesame seeds (or poppy seeds)
Tools
🛠 Useful Tools
To prepare the savory puff pastry pinwheel tree, you will need:
Baking sheet – large enough to compose the tree shape.
Parchment paper – to prevent the pastry from sticking.
Sharp knife – to cut the pinwheels without crushing them.
Pastry brush – to brush milk or oil on the surface.
Cutting board – useful for rolling and cutting the puff pastry neatly.
💡 Tip: if you want a perfect shape, you can lightly draw a triangle on the parchment paper with a pencil (on the reverse side, of course!) and use it as a guide to arrange the pinwheels.
Steps
The preparation of the Savory Puff Pastry Pinwheel Tree (Egg-Free) is very simple; watch the video HERE.
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Unroll the puff pastry and let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes.
Cover the entire surface with cooked ham.
Add the cheese evenly.
Roll up the puff pastry starting from the long side, forming a compact roll.
Wrap the roll in parchment paper and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to facilitate cutting.
Cut the roll into thick slices.
Arrange the pinwheels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, creating the shape of a Christmas tree.
Brush the surface with a bit of milk or extra virgin olive oil to promote browning.
To taste, sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for 20-25 minutes, until they are puffed and golden.
Let it cool for a few minutes.
Transfer to a serving plate and bring your little tree to the table!
💡 Tips & Variations
Alternative fillings: speck and provola, cream cheese and smoked salmon, pesto and mozzarella.
Vegetarian version: spinach and ricotta, grilled zucchini and scamorza, tomato and oregano.
Golden effect: milk gives a delicate color, while oil provides a shinier and crispier appearance.
