These are great both for parties and for appetizers. I made these for Georgia’s birthday party but have also served them with a chilled glass of white wine before a more formal dinner. At first I wanted to make only the basic cheese twists, but then decided to spice them up a bit and make some with paprika and some with black olive tapenade. They were all yummy!
Ingredients:
Puff pastry, thawed
Tasty cheese, grated
Paprika
Black olive tapenade
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp of water
Sesame seeds (optional)
NOTE: I have not measured the ingredients as they vary by taste. Just keep in mind that you need 2 sheets of puff pastry (one on top of the other) to make the sticks/pillows and cheese to cover the pastry fully (you can see it from the pictures).
Put enough grated cheese to cover one of the pastry sheets fully (1), then brush some egg wash on the surface of another puff pastry sheet (2) and place it egg brushed side down on top of the cheese (3). Lightly press with a rolling pin (4) and cut the pastry into 2 rectangles first (5) and then into strips (6). Twist each strip (7) and put it on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Brush lightly with some egg wash (8).
Do the same for the paprika cheese twists; just sprinkle some paprika with the cheese and on the top, after brushing them with egg wash.
Do the same for the black olive tapenade and cheese pillows, just add some black olive tapenade under the cheese and cut them into little rectangles. Then brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with some sesame seeds on the top.
Bake in a pre-heated over at 200°C (400°F) fan forced for 10 to 15 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown. Let them cool before serving.
This is my kinda appetizer. Tasty and easy!!
I know you might be surprised, but I’ve never cooked with puff pastry before! I know – where have I been? 🙂 It’s recipes like these however that make me want to strike that off my “never have used” list. I just added it my grocery list. The sticks and the pillows both look so very tasty!
A really great idea for a party! 🙂
These look super tasty. I love them both but the pillows are calling my name. Lol!
Perfect munchy food and very adaptable.
Delicious…!!! Just thinking in all the meeting I have during this month due to Christmas celebration (yes, we celebrate the whole month), and this goes perfect to bring.
Wowsa! These are so yummy! You’re making some pretty awesome stuff, when did you go pro? 😉
Buzzed!
Hi Manu! I’ve made cheese twists before but next time I’m trying with black olive tapenade. It looks delicious and this type of food disappear in a minute!
They look perfectly baked treats, Manu. Yumm!
Simple and delectable!!! Two great snacks…I couldn’t resist either!
Cheese… pastry… tapenade… SOLD! So making these over Christmas!
Lovely party dish…on my list for christmas entertaining.
What a gorgeous hors d’œuvres, Manu. I have been making something similar from a Martha Stewart recipe for years and everyone loves it. Which reminds me that I have 1.5 boxes of puff pastry in the freezer, left overs from a photo shoot! Sounds like I’ll be making cheese twists and pillows this weekend. I have some of the aubergine salad left over from our Moroccan dinner party, I think I’ll use that in the pillows!
Both look absolutely wonderful, but I think I’d demolish the pillow stack first 🙂
Yours turned out beautifully! Absolutely delicious!
Ohh I just love these whenever I have them at friends’ houses, they’re so delicious!! I’ll have to try them out this weekend and make them myself, yum 🙂 Feel free to stop by my blog and check out the $50 Williams-Sonoma gift card giveaway going on right now! xoxo
Any food shaped like a stick or on a stick is fun to eat. Any food with cheese on/in it is my idea of heaven!
I love cheesy bread! While I am perfectly happy with that, here you are with some awesome flavor additions that really amp up my favorite. These look delicious and I am now dreaming of the burst of flavor in these with the olive tapenade as well as the paprika. Great post Manuela!
These look soooooo good—and easy!! 🙂
New fan here. These look so perfect!
I make something very similar to this – they are so good! Yours look gorgeous! Perfect for a party.