How to use store-bought puff pastry for easy holiday entertaining

Depending on how you celebrate the holidays, you may have a favorite activity that just says “happy happy” or “merry merry” to you. Maybe it’s wrapping presents, having a snowball fight or counting down the clock to a new year. And if you’re like me, it’s all of these pursuits, plus one: baking easy, scrumptious treats with store-bought puff pastry, including my Sausage Rolls In Puff Pastry.

I’m relatively new to the world of this handy shortcut, as I’ve always eschewed grocery store pie crust and lumped the two together. I could not have been more wrong. While I believe homemade pie crust tastes better and can be done relatively quickly, especially with practice, from-scratch puff pastry (even “rough puff”) can be challenging and time-consuming. Store-bought puff pastry is not only extremely tasty, but also vegan, if you use the Pepperidge Farm brand, which I highly recommend, though butter-based Dufour is an excellent option when dairy is not a problem. And, obviously, it’s much easier and faster to work with.

I was introduced to the joy of store-bought puff pastry when writing my most recent “easy peasy” baking cookbook, “Salty Cheesy Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes.” I discovered that depending on how you cut and assemble the dough, a world of very different and very delicious salty, cheesy treats is available for the taking.

In addition to allowing time for defrosting, keeping the dough cool and using a sharp knife, I would add one note: The dough comes folded up like a letter, and one side of it may already be dusted with flour. I discovered that, if I set it on the counter with the floured side down, I did not need to add more flour to my work surface or to the top of the dough, assuming it and my kitchen were at a cool room temperature. Then all that’s needed is to roll out the sheet just a bit to smooth out its creases.

Here are a variety of puff-pastry assembly techniques that you can effortlessly and successfully try at home during the holidays — or at any time the craving for impressively flaky, puff-pastry-wrapped goodies hits. Each technique results in a different baked good, and all are baked at 400°F. And in addition to the ideas below, you can also use puff pastry to make these delicious sausage rolls, popular in England around Christmastime.

Danishes

Cut two sheets of puff pastry into eight 5-inch squares and spread a mix of cream cheese and goat cheese for savory danishes, or just sweetened cream cheese for sweet, over the bottom, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Dollop about 1 tablespoon of jam on top of the cheese, brush the border with egg wash, sprinkle with herbs, spices or sugar (or don’t), and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the edges are puffed, brown and crisped.

Individual puff tarts

Cut two sheets of puff pastry into four equal squares, and brush with egg wash all around the edges, as they will get folded into rectangular filled “tarts.” I like to add a zhuzhed-up ricotta and caramelized onions, but you do you. The rule of the filling game is, less is more, so aim for about 3 tablespoons of filling total per tart, and nothing too runny. Place the filling on one half of each square so it is easy to fold the other half over and seal — first with your fingers and then with the tines of a fork. Cut three slits into the top of the tarts, brush with egg wash and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed, browned and crisped.

Large-format ‘sandwich’ tart

When you’re feeling a little extra, try generously “topping” one sheet of the pastry and covering it with another sheet, scoring, baking and then slicing it into squares. I fill mine with American cheese for a fun riff on a grilled cheese sandwich, but any melty cheese and veggies should work (plus ham, if that’s your thing), as long as you don’t go overboard. Leave a border for the egg wash, to help bind the two sheets together, press the border closed with the tines of a fork, brush with egg wash, score into 12 pieces (but don’t actually cut all the way through the bottom sheet of pastry) and bake for about 25 minutes, or until puffed, browned and crisped.

Mini croissants

Using store-bought puff pastry to make miniature croissants is a life hack you did not know you were missing. Assembling them isn’t hard but can be difficult to visualize. Cut a sheet of the pastry in half lengthwise, then cut each half into thirds, also lengthwise, creating six long, skinny rectangles, about 1¾-inches wide. Then cut each rectangle in half on the diagonal, creating 12 triangles. Position the triangles so the point is facing away from you. Top with grated cheese and ham, spread with Nutella or your favorite spread, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar or leave as is. Starting with the “base” of the triangle, roll the dough toward the point, ending with the tip tucked underneath the croissant. Brush with egg wash and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed, browned and crisped.

Baked Brie

Melty cheese plus flaky dough is a match made in heaven, and most of us are familiar with wrapping a wheel of cheese in puff pastry. Roll out the dough until it is about ⅛-inch thick, set the cheese (typically Brie) in the center and cut around the wheel, leaving a 3-inch border or just enough that you can comfortably stretch the dough over the cheese to cover. I like to spread jam on the wheel, and then, as I gently pull the pastry over the cheese, I egg-wash each section to help it adhere. Once the cheese is covered, brush the entire thing with more egg wash and chill briefly in the refrigerator or freezer so the pastry is a little cold when it hits the hot oven; this helps the bake hold its shape and puff up better. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is puffed and browned, and let it rest a bit before digging in, with extra jam on the side.

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Sausage Rolls In Puff Pastry

2 large eggs, divided

1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces (227 grams) pork sausage, such as sweet Italian or English bangers, casings removed*

1 sheet store-bought frozen puff pastry, defrosted

2 tablespoons smooth mustard (any non-grainy kind)

Fennel seeds, for sprinkling

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1 of the eggs, the salt and pepper until well combined. Add the sausage and use your hands, or a flexible spatula, to gently mix until just combined (overmixing can make it tough). The sausage mixture will be wet and loose.

Set the puff pastry on a cutting board, floured-side down, and roll it out just a bit to smooth out the seams. Cut the pastry in half horizontally, to get two rectangles with the long sides facing you. Spread 1 tablespoon of the mustard over each rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the long side farthest from you and going all the way to the edges on the short sides and long side closest to you.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 egg with a pinch of salt until combined. Brush the long, mustard-less sides of the rectangle with the egg wash. Divide the sausage mixture evenly between the rectangles (each portion should be about 140 grams), and shape it into a long cylinder, about 1 1/2 inches wide, that runs along the side of the rectangle closest to you. The meat should extend the entire length of the rectangles.

Beginning from the long side closest to you and rolling away from you, firmly roll each piece of puff pastry over and around the meat, continuing until you reach the egg wash side and use it to adhere the dough. Lightly pinch the seam closed with your fingertips; the sausage mixture should be exposed at both ends. Set the rolls seam side down, then generously brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with fennel seeds, if using. Cut each roll into six (2-inch-long) pieces and evenly space them on the prepared sheet pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed, browned and crispy, rotating from front to back halfway through. (During baking, a little fat might pool around the rolls; this is okay.) Don’t overbake, or the filling may dry out. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, or completely, before serving.

Substitutions: Instead of pork sausage, you can use chicken sausage. Vegan? Use vegan puff pastry, such as Pepperidge Farm, plant-based hot dogs or sausages, and an egg-replacer. Not a fan of fennel? Try cracked coriander or black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, or minced hardy herbs such as rosemary, thyme or sage. Want to amp up the flavor even more? Add 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder to the sausage mixture.

* Notes: Sweet Italian sausage will work here, but English bangers are ideal, if you can find them. This recipe was developed using widely available puff pastry from Pepperidge Farm, but we also highly recommend using an all-butter puff pastry, such as Dufour. Different brands offer puff-pastry sheets of different dimensions and weights, but they should all work fine. For reference: Dufour is about 14 ounces; Trader Joe’s is about 9.1 ounces; and Pepperidge Farm is about 8.7 ounces.

Make ahead: The frozen puff pastry needs to be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator.

Storage: Sausage rolls are best served warm, shortly after they’re baked, but can be tightly wrapped and refrigerated for up to 3 days. To reheat, bring the rolls to room temperature, about 20 minutes, then transfer to a 300° oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet for about 10 minutes, or until warmed through.

Makes 12 rolls.

Nutritional Facts per sausage roll | Calories: 62; Fat: 4 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 3 g; Sodium: 248 mg; Cholesterol: 37 mg; Protein: 4 g; Fiber: 0 g; Sugar: 0 g

— Adapted from “Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes” by Jessie Sheehan (Countryman Press, 2024).