Description
These festive Christmas Appetizer Puffs are light, flaky puff pastry shapes adorned with savory toppings like Parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, and Italian seasoning. Perfect as a holiday finger food, they are quick to prepare and bake into golden, crispy bites that pair beautifully with dips such as hummus and fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
Scale
Puff Pastry Base
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (approximately 8.65 ounces or half of a 17.3-ounce package)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings
- Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
- Sesame seeds, to taste
- Poppy seeds, to taste
- Italian seasoning, to taste
- Minced garlic, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 425°F (220°C) to ensure it’s hot enough for the puff pastries to rise and turn golden brown quickly.
- Prepare Puff Pastry: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the thawed puff pastry sheet into a 13-inch square to get an even thickness for cutting shapes.
- Cut Shapes: Use cookie cutters with simple festive shapes such as stars, trees, and bells to cut out the pastry pieces.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Place the cut pastry shapes on an ungreased cookie sheet, ensuring they are spaced slightly apart to allow for puffing.
- Brush with Olive Oil: Lightly brush each cutout with olive oil to help toppings stick and promote browning.
- Add Toppings: Sprinkle your choice of grated Parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic onto the pastries for flavor and texture.
- Bake: Bake the pastries in the preheated oven for 6–8 minutes, or until they become golden brown and puffed up.
- Serve: Remove from oven and serve warm as a delightful appetizer alongside hummus and fresh vegetables.
Notes
- Ensure the puff pastry is fully thawed before rolling to prevent cracking.
- Feel free to experiment with toppings like everything bagel seasoning, rosemary, or different cheeses.
- If you don’t have cookie cutters, you can cut the pastry into simple squares or rectangles with a knife.
- Serve immediately for the best flaky texture; puff pastries lose crispness when stored.
- These appetizers can be prepared ahead and baked just before serving.
