PETIT FOURS : SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE HEARTS PUFF PASTRY
We love this recipe because it looks incredibly fun and fancy on a holiday table, but since everything is bite-sized, it’s easy to just grab a couple and run straight back to the Scrabble match. It balances that festive look with zero party stress, and we cheat the crust completely by picking up a box of ready-rolled frozen puff pastry sheets from the grocery aisle—the kind that bakes into those beautiful, airy, croissant-like layers.
What makes these little savory pies unique is how we structure the flaky shells using a simple egg-wash stacking method to build deep, hollow nests. We half-bake the empty pastry frames with their tiny dough lids on the side first, let them cool, and then spoon in our warm, savory cream cheese blend for a quick final bake. It's a very straightforward process of assembling your pre-prepped bases, and it keeps holiday cooking fast, easy, and incredibly fun.
COOK AND PREP TIME
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
The Pastry Shells:
1 box Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets (thawed but cold)
1 Large Egg (beaten, for egg wash)
The Savory Filling:
1 can (or jar) Preserved Artichoke Hearts (drained and chopped)
2 cups Fresh Spinach (or thawed frozen spinach, squeezed dry)
1 block (8 oz) Cream Cheese (softened at room temperature)
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon Onion Powder
½ teaspoon Dried Dill
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil (for sautéing)
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
1. Whip Up the Quick Filling
Heat your olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Toss in the chopped preserved artichoke hearts first, letting them sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly golden. Add the spinach to the pan and cook just until wilted and dry. Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, stir your cream cheese until soft and creamy. Fold in the sautéed warm veggies, garlic powder, onion powder, and dill. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste, then set the mixture aside.
2. Stamp the Pastry Foundations
Unroll your cold puff pastry sheet flat on a sheet of parchment paper. Use a small round cookie cutter or the rim of a small glass to stamp out your base circles. For every base circle, stamp out two more identical circles, then use a smaller cutter to punch a hole out of their centers—creating thin pastry "donuts." Save those small punched-out center circles; these will serve as your tiny decorative pastry lids!
3. Assemble the Nest Layers
Place your solid base circles flat on your baking tray. Use a fork to prick the center of each base circle 3–4 times; this keeps the center flat so you have room for the filling. Brush the top of each base lightly with your beaten egg wash. Place one pastry donut directly on top, brush it with egg, and stack the second pastry donut right on top. This triple-layer setup creates a deep well in the center. Brush the top layer and your separate little solid lid circles with the remaining egg wash so they bake into a beautiful golden sheen.
4. The Initial Half-Bake
Pop the tray into your preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 10 to 12 minutes until they rise. Watch them inflate into crisp, hollow nests while the separate little lids puff up beautifully on the side. Remove the tray from the oven and let the pastry shells cool completely to room temperature on a wire rack.
5. Spoon and Flash Bake
Once the pastry shells are cooled and stable, use a small spoon to drop a generous dollop of your cream cheese, spinach, and artichoke blend straight into the hollow center well of each pastry nest. Return the filled tarts to the oven for a final 8 to 10 minutes—just long enough for the filling to get warm and bubbling while the pastry finishes browning into a flawless, flaky crunch. Remove from the heat, place the little baked pastry lids gently on top, and serve them straight from the tray!
Subscribe to my newsletter
Search
Planner Inserts & Systems