Pumpkin pudding and cheese pie puffs are an easy holiday appetizer

These little treats have big pumpkin flavor. And what’s pastry without a dollop of whipped cream? These little guys are so easy to make you won’t believe it.

I’m really liking frozen pastry cups, because I can make treats like these and feel like a fancy baker, when in reality all I do is open the box, put the frozen little discs onto a cookie sheet and pop them into the oven. Then it’s like magic how they puff up. And the good news is that there’s a little circular disc in the middle of the cooked pastry that needs to be removed so the filling can go in the middle. The cook gets to snack on those circular discs; it’s a requirement. How great is that?

These make wonderful desserts that can be made ahead of time. Even if just the pastry is made in advance, it saves time when it comes to assembling them. So give these cuties a try the next time you need to make a dessert — or even if you just feel like making a sweet treat.

Pumpkin cheese pie puffs recipe

A quick and easy dessert that is semi-homemade. These pastry cups are filled with pumpkin pudding and cheese pie filling. Quick, easy to make and can be made ahead of time.

Yields 24

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 (9.5 ounce) box 24 frozen puff pastry cups
• 1 (3.4 ounce) box pumpkin spice instant pudding and pie filling
• 2 cups cold milk
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 cups Cool Whip topping
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lay the frozen puff pastry cups on a cookie sheet, and bake according to the instructions on the box. Let cool, and remove the small discs in the middle of each pastry cup to make room for the filling.
3. To a medium-size bowl, add the pudding mix and milk according to the instructions on the box.
4. Whisk together, cover with cellophane, and chill in the refrigerator.
5. To a medium-size bowl, add the cream cheese and sugar. Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
6. After the pudding hardens up a bit and has had time to chill (about 30 minutes), add 1/2 the pudding to the bowl with the cream cheese mixture. Reserve the remaining pudding.
7. Whisk together the pudding and cream cheese mixture until the pudding is incorporated and it’s light and fluffy.
8. Spoon in a couple of tablespoons of the reserved pumpkin pudding into the cream cheese mixture, and swirl it with a spoon a couple of times, just enough so that the orange color of the pudding is swirled into the lighter-colored cream cheese mixture. There will be some pudding left over.
9. Spoon the cream cheese and pudding mixture into each puff pastry cup.
10. Top with a dollop of Cool Whip.
11. Serve with a light dusting of cinnamon on top.

More puff pastry recipes

Mini puff pastry pot pie sliders
Ham and cheese puff pastry stromboli
Easy heart-shaped napoleons