Description
Delight in these charming Strawberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Pastries featuring flaky puff pastry filled with a luscious blend of cream cheese and strawberry jam, topped with fresh diced strawberries. Perfectly golden and dusted with powdered sugar, these pastries make a delightful morning treat or elegant brunch option.
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry
- 1 (8.6 oz) sheet puff pastry
Filling
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 Tbsp strawberry jam
- 1 drop red food coloring (or use beet powder), optional
- 2/3 cup very small diced strawberries
Glaze and Finish
- 1 large egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Prepare Puff Pastry: Thaw puff pastry according to package directions while preheating the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit halfway through thawing.
- Make Cream Cheese Mixture: In a small bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix together cream cheese, strawberry jam, and optional food coloring, pressing along the bottom and sides to smooth out lumps.
- Chill Filling: Transfer the cream cheese mixture to the refrigerator to firm up; alternatively, flash chill in the freezer if close to pastry thawing completion.
- Cut Pastries: Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts from the thawed puff pastry sheet, placing shapes close together.
- Prepare Baking Sheet: Transfer the cut hearts to a baking sheet lined with a silicone liner or parchment paper, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Score Inner Hearts: With a sharp paring knife, lightly score a smaller heart inside each larger heart about 1/3 inch from the edge, taking care not to cut through the dough bottom.
- Add Filling: Spoon 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each heart, spreading outward but keeping the 1/3-inch border clear.
- Add Strawberries: Layer the diced strawberries over the cream cheese filling, again avoiding the edges.
- Brush Edges: Using your fingertip, brush the 1/3-inch edges of each pastry heart with the egg and water mixture to help with browning and sealing.
- Bake Pastries: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool and Serve: Remove from oven and let pastries cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Best enjoyed the same day.
Notes
- For a quicker option, cut 6 rectangles instead of hearts, and increase cream cheese to 3 oz, strawberry jam to 2 1/2 Tbsp, and diced strawberries to 1 cup to cover the larger surface.
- You can substitute red food coloring with natural beet powder for a vibrant, natural color.
- Ensure the puff pastry is properly thawed but still cold to handle easily and achieve flaky layers.
- Serve pastries fresh as they can lose flakiness if stored for too long.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pastry
- Calories: 190 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 95 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
