Stuffed puff pastry bites in various shapes for the holidays with meat, cold cuts, or fish filling. For the recipe, we’ll need a couple of sheets of puff pastry and some cookie cutters themed for the upcoming holiday, like a tree or star for Christmas, a flower for Easter, or a bell, and so on. For the filling, I used cream cheese, to which I added some leftover pork roast. If you don’t have the roast, of which you need very little, you can use cooked ham, porchetta, mortadella, salami, or tuna, salmon, for tasty appetizers for Christmas. In a short time, you can prepare a quick and tasty appetizer that always makes a great impression with puff pastry. They’re also very nice to serve, even on a stick. You can find this recipe in the Christmas appetizers collection.
Here are some more delicious puff pastry ideas.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: About 16 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, All Seasons
Ingredients for Stuffed Puff Pastry Bites
- 2 sheets rectangular puff pastry
- 7 oz cream cheese
- 7 oz leftover roast or cold cuts or smoked salmon
- egg for glazing
- to taste sesame seeds
Tools for Preparing Stuffed Puff Pastry Bites
- 1 Chopper
- 1 Cookie cutter
- 1 Brush
Steps for Preparing Stuffed Puff Pastry Bites for Aperitif
In a chopper, I placed the cheese with the chopped meat, or alternatively ham or salami, but also smoked salmon, or if you prefer a vegetarian option, olives or sun-dried tomatoes, or baked pumpkin, or another ingredient you love. Since I used already flavorful roast, I didn’t add other seasonings, but you can add pepper, herbs, and what you desire; my roast already had everything. Blend until you get a cream.
Unroll the puff pastry, one sheet at a time, starting with the first, spread the cream over the entire surface. Close with the second sheet. With cookie cutters, cut out the desired shapes, flowers, trees, stars, or whatever you like best. Gradually place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Also bake the scraps, in a corner of the tray, great to enjoy fresh out of the oven for a snack.
Place the bites slightly spaced on a tray, brush with beaten egg. Then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F (180°C) for about 25-30 minutes, until the themed-shaped stuffed puff pastry bites are puffed and golden. You can serve them immediately while still hot, but they’re also excellent cold. If there are leftovers, you can also freeze them or serve within a couple of days; if reheated, they’ll be like freshly made.
