Jam-filled puff pastries look like edible Christmas gifts

What do you get if you combine jam and puff pastry dough at your holiday table? This playful Christmas pastry — which is the perfect nibble to serve with coffee or after-dinner drinks.

I have always had a fondness for jam-filled pastries, and that probably has a lot to do with where I come from: Macedonia. Around the holidays, we are all about the “kola?i” (kolacky) and less about the classical sugar cookie. In fact, I don’t think we even have a recipe for sugar cookies.

In my latest installment of recreating a classic, I came up with this super-easy puff pastry cookie, which involves frozen puff pastry dough and jam. That’s it. Aaaand an egg wash, plus a sprinkle of powdered sugar for looks. Aaaand a bit of cutting around to make it look like a bow, or even a holy cross, according to my dad.

These are really easy to make, so long as you follow my very simple process and photo instructions.

Have fun and enjoy!

Step 1: Cut the puff pastry

Step 2: Score L-shaped cuts at the corners of each piece of pastry

Step 3: Place jam onto the middle of each piece of pastry

Step 4: Fold the corners up to make bows

Step 5: Press down the middle of each bow

Jam-filled Christmas puff pastries recipe

Serves 9 

Prep time: 20 minutes | Inactive time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 13 minutes | Total time: 48 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 puff pastry sheet, 2 per box (can be found in the frozen section)
• 4 tablespoons strawberry jam
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
2. Lay the frozen puff pastry sheet on a clean work surface and allow it to thaw for 10 minutes. Do not unfold the dough until it’s thawed out, but make sure it is still cold when you do.
3. Unfold the puff pastry and cut it into nine equal squares.
4. With a sharp knife, score L-shaped cuts at the corners of each pastry square, as shown in the pictures above.
5. Place about 1 teaspoon of jam onto the center of each puff pastry.
6. Take the outer corner of each puff pastry and fold over into the middle. Do this with all four corners, shaping the folds into a bow.
7. In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the edges of the pastries with a pastry brush.
8. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes, or until they puff up and the edges are golden.
9. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
10. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

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