Fruit and Cream Cheese Pastries

Up your brunch game with this fast and fresh recipe for Fruit and Cream Cheese Breakfast Pastries topped with your choice of fruit.

These Easy pastries are a snap to make using store-bought puff pastry and fresh fruit. They are buttery, flaky, and delicious, with a sweet-tart fruit filling and the crunch of sugar on top! Also, I personally love the little bit of crunch that the coarse sugar adds to every bite of these flaky fruit pastries. But you could also finish them with just a simple egg wash instead. 

Store-bought puff pastry can be starred in many a versatile, from quiche and strudel to tarts and cheese twists. But when it comes to puff pastry’s role in the early a.m., it absolutely steals the show when baked into quick and easy breakfast pastries topped with tangy cream cheese filling and piled high with the freshest fruits.

The real beauty of these bite size snacks is that they’re completely compatible 365 days a year with a wide range of fruit toppings. You can Opt from a variety of fruit….peaches, pineapple , juicy berries or crisp apples and pears. Best of all, they’ll be on your breakfast table in 30 minutes or less.

Also, they are easy to whip up if you keep a package of puff pastry in your freezer. I always have one on hand because it makes entertaining so easy.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup cream cheese, at room temp

• 2 Tablespoons sugar

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

• 1 1/2 cups fruit of your choice — I used strawberry, blueberries and apples mixed with some cinnamon

• 1 large egg

• granulated sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 170°C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.

In the bowl using a whisk, beat the cream cheese with the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract until creamy.

Unfold the puff pastry sheets onto a lightly floured work surface. Lightly roll the pastry with a rolling pin to seal the perforations. Using a 4-inch round cookie cutter (or glass), cut out circles from the sheet of puff pastry.

Transfer the pastry circles onto each baking sheet, spacing the circles about 2 inches apart. Lightly score a circular border 1/4-inch from the edges then prick the centers of each pastry with a fork. Spread a portion of the cream cheese mixture inside the border of each pastry then top the cream cheese with fruit.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the edges of the pastries with the egg wash then sprinkle them with the sugar. Bake the pastries for 15 minutes or until they’re golden and puffed.

Remove the pastries from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

NOTE:

Any type of fruit will work for these breakfast pastries. Opt for your favorite flavors or whatever is in season, such as strawberries, raspberries, peaches, plums, apples or pears.