Puff Pastry Twists With Cheese Garlic & Basil

Who doesn’t like Puff Pastry?! With its lovely crispy texture, and about a million ways to use it, not to mention the quick and easy appetizers you can scoop up using these, Puff Pastry is a favored ingredient to turn to, especially when you want to make something fancy and delicious, without spending hours in the kitchen. Inspired by Paula Dean’s Parmesan Twists, I wanted to make something similar to impress some friends coming over the weekend to watch the coveted FIFA game. I fell in love with this recipe the moment I saw Paula making these on her cooking show – they were really simple to make, but looked beautiful and sophisticated to be served as a fancy party appetizer.

Using Patricia’s recipe as a base, and modifying it to suit our taste, I went ahead and baked these lovely Cheese Garlic Twists [photo courtesy of Patricia Scarpin]. Making them was a snap, thanks to frozen puff pastry; but let me remind you that they will be gone within minutes, once you serve them to your guests. And people won’t stop with just a couple – they are so addictive, you might consider making a few dozen extra and store some for yourself, else you might not even get to taste one!

Puff Pastry Twists Flavored with Cheese & Garlic

Ingredients
Makes 18-20 twists

1 pre rolled 10oz sheet frozen puff pastry
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup finely ground parmesan
1 tspn fleur de sel – less if using table salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tspn dried basil or rosemary (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 400ºF; line one large baking sheet with baking paper and brush it lightly with oil.

Thaw puff pastry according to the package instructions; open it, forming a rectangle, keeping the plastic wrap under it.

Mix the parmesan cheese, basil, rosemary and garlic in a bowl.

In another small bowl, melt the butter and brush the entire pastry sheet with the mixture. Sprinkle with the cheese and herb mixture, the fleur de sel and black pepper.

Fold the pastry in half and lightly press it to seal the filling. Using a very sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut the pastry vertically in 1/2 inch strips, then cut the strips in half horizontally. Twist each strip pressing the ends together again to enclose the filling. Place the twists onto the prepared pan 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden in color.

These Puff Pastry twists as a classic appetizer or finger food to serve at a small gathering. They can be ready in less than 20 minutes, and need very less supervision or preparation. Serve them with a side of Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip, or some Sun-Dried Tomato Queso, and you’ll love the oohs and aahs that it evokes from your friends!

This is my entry to the Magic Bullet – Favorite Snack Food recipe event being hosted right here at Fun and Food Cafe. If you’d like to win a FREE Magic Bullet To Go, send in your recipes to me soon. The giveaway ends this Friday, June 18th!

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