Description
Delight in these charming Strawberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Pastries, featuring flaky puff pastry hearts filled with a luscious cream cheese and strawberry jam mixture, topped with fresh diced strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar. Perfect for a sweet morning treat or brunch centerpiece.
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
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water
For Garnish
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Thaw and Preheat: Thaw the puff pastry according to the package directions. Halfway through thawing, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure it's ready for baking.
- Prepare Filling: In a small bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix together the cream cheese, strawberry jam, and optional red food coloring. Press the mixture against the bowl’s bottom and sides to smooth out any large lumps. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to use; flash chill in the freezer if near the end of pastry thawing.
- Cut Pastry Shapes: Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut as many heart shapes as possible from the puff pastry sheet, placing them closely together to maximize yield.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Transfer the heart-shaped pastries to a baking sheet lined with a silicone liner or parchment paper, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart for even cooking.
- Score Inner Hearts: Lightly score a smaller heart inside each pastry heart shape with a sharp paring knife about 1/3-inch from the edge, making sure not to cut through the bottom of the dough.
- Fill Pastries: Spoon 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each scored heart, spreading outward but keeping clear of the 1/3-inch edge. Then, top with diced strawberries, again avoiding the edges.
- Apply Egg Wash: Brush the 1/3-inch edge of each pastry heart with the egg and water mixture. This helps seal the edges and promotes a golden finish.
- Bake: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry edges turn golden brown and puffed.
- Cool and Serve: Remove the pastries from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, dust generously with powdered sugar. Serve these pastries on the day they are prepared for the best texture and flavor.
Notes
- To save preparation time, cut 6 rectangular shapes from the puff pastry instead of hearts and slice the strawberries. Adjust the filling quantities to 3 oz cream cheese, 2 1/2 Tbsp jam, and 1 cup strawberries to cover the larger surface area.
- Flash chilling the cream cheese mixture in the freezer helps prevent it from becoming too runny when spreading on the pastry.
- Ensure the puff pastry is fully thawed but still cold before cutting to achieve clean, crisp edges when baking.
- Use parchment or a silicone liner to prevent sticking and make cleanup easier.
- Serve pastries fresh; they lose crispness if stored overnight.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pastry
- Calories: 190 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
