Tis the season for all the cheesy, buttery, and flaky starters! I love working with puff pastry since it produces such delicious results with so little work. This year, I shaped the puff pastry into cranberry and bacon snowflake with a baked Camembert in the center.
You can customize these very easily – try a prosciutto, onion jam and brie snowflake. Or you could even make these sweet by spreading Nutella or sweetened cream cheese! Go wild with your imagination – it’s the holidays after all so it’s the best time to indulge.
Puff Pastry Snowflake (Savory OR Sweet!)
This snowflake is the perfect holiday starter for impressing guests with minimal effort thanks to puff pastry and a wheel of Camembert or brie that bakes in the center (though feel free to omit and customize as desired)
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Ingredients
2 sheets puff pastry
2-3 strips of bacon (substitute with crushed nuts or your choice of topping, optional)
1 wheel of Camembert or brie (optional)
3-4 tbsp cranberry sauce (substitute with pesto or your choice of sweet or savory spread)
1 egg beaten with a splash of water or milk (can use across both recipes)
Fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C
If you’re puff pastry is frozen, lay it flat on a cutting board at room temperature to thaw for 10-15 minutes
Prepare the bacon, if using, while the puff pastry is thawing. Lay the strips flat in a large nonstick skillet or griddle and cook over low for 15-20 minutes until crispy, flipping once midway. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate, then chop or crumble into tiny pieces and set aside
Cut a large circle out of the puff pastry by running a knife along the outside of a plate, cake pan, or other round object that’s the same width as your puff pastry. Set aside the scraps to bake for snack bites if desired.
Lay one sheet of puff pastry on a parchment paper or silicon mat-lined baking sheet, setting aside the other on your cutting board.
If using, place the wheel of cheese in the center of the puff pastry on the baking sheet, then use the back of your knife to trace the cheese to make a guideline before setting aside the cheese.
Spread the cranberry sauce (or your choice of spread) on the outer ring of the puff pastry if using the wheel of cheese. If you’re not using the cheese, you can spread the sauce all over. If using the bacon or other toppings, sprinkle it on top of the sauce.
Lay the second puff pastry sheet on top, lining up the edges. If using the cheese, place it back in the center, then make 16 cuts radially from the edge of the cheese out to the edges as pictured. If omitting the cheese, make the same cuts, leaving a small circle in the center uncut to hold the snowflake in place.
Take each piece and twist it toward the piece next to it, then pinch together the ends to form the snowflake shape. In the photos, I twisted the pieces away from each other, which I wouldn’t recommend as the snowflake turned out looking a bit phallic ?
Brush the entire surface with egg wash, then bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve.
