After watching a recent episode of The Pioneer Woman I knew I wanted to know how to rock puff pastry! Being a puff pastry newbie, I hope the learning curve is rather small. Ree Drummond (the Pioneer Woman) and her other friends at the Food Network make working with puff pastry seem easy. So, want to join me? I’m ready to give it a try, and I’m excited for a whole new category of recipes to add to my Plan-To-Eat collection!
Puff Pastry Basics
There are some basics in working with puff pastry for any recipe. The product comes frozen. (I found it in the freezer section near the pie crusts and phyllo dough. Pepperidge Farms is the recommended brand.)
According to an article at the Food Network site (50 Puff Pastry Treats), the first step is to thaw either in the fridge or at room temp, not in the microwave. Next, roll out the dough on a floured board. Finally, use an egg wash if you’re going for a shiny, golden look, or you need to ‘glue’ edges together.
How to Rock the Savory (Pizza) and the Sweet (Hand Pies)
We’re starting with a SAVORY recipe. Another of the first things I learned was that puff pastry could be appetizers, dinner, or dessert! Tonight we’re rocking Puff Pastry Pizza with our favorite toppings. In the recipe on the Food Network, Ree includes ingredients for four different pizza toppings (using two sheets of dough). You could go off on your own once you’ve got the idea. I’ve got Italian sausage to use instead of the suggested pepperoni, and I added some black olives. The second one featured fresh mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and black olives. They were both delicious! I might splash a little marinara underneath the cheese and toppings, but I loved the suggested ingredients, and Rick did too. We decided the pizzas could be cut into little squares and served as fun appetizers.
For the SWEET we’ve got the ingredients for the Blueberry Hand Pies and the Quick and Easy Apple Tart. Ok, so we tried the blueberry dessert. And it turned out great! We added a little squirt whipped cream to top it off. Apple Tarts will be next up. These recipes are very easy. I’m hooked!
Collecting Puff Pastry Recipes
You might be interested in joining me in collecting recipes to rock puff pastry too. If you are, I’ve got an assortment of them in the ‘Puff Pastry Main Ingredient’ group in my Plan to Eat account. My user name is kathyowensrowland; if you’re already a member, if you haven’t joined yet, you can try it during a 30 day free trial period and try out all the features of this program I’ve belonged to for four years.
There is also a collection of recipes on Quiet Hollow for you to enjoy. The list is growing and you’ll notice a few mentioned in this post will be there as well.
Your Turn
What puff pastry recipes have you tried? Please share them below. Additionally, I’m curious about which of these recipes do you think you would be willing to try.
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Finding a new purpose in living and joy in the day-to-day was the goal when author Kathy Rowland and her entire family (adult kids and grandkids) moved from the PNW to Texas several years ago. The focus of Quiet Hollow is to encourage ‘next chapter women’ – those who are retired, empty-nesters, or have found themselves without a spouse to jump back into life. And, she shares multiple tips, ideas, and possibilities toward that end. Kathy completed her almost 30 years as an elementary teacher and hopped into over a decade of volunteer work, side hustle-type businesses, and grandchild care before discovering her unique and fulfilling purpose for the next chapter of life. What you read on Quiet Hollow is a large part of that calling. Another part is the happy life she’s leading in Central Texas in the same neighborhood as the 3 big kids and her 5 grandkids. She and her college sweetheart husband made sure to add a pool to their new Texas home, so there are lots of noisy, splashy days in their little oasis of a backyard. Come join her on Quiet Hollow in a conversation about finding and living the life you were created to live in this later stage. The chats will be full of laughter, support, faith, and inspiration to create.
