Mozzarella and Basil Puff Pastry Twists

If you read my post from yesterday and my guest post on The Confident Mom’s blog for this month, I think you’ll start to see a pattern. Ever since I tackled my fear of puff pastry dough, I have turned into the puff pastry queen. I’ve become completely obsessed with this magical dough and I can’t stop thinking of new, delicious and simple creations using frozen, and then thawed, puff pastry sheets…I swear, it’s like the best thing since sliced bread.

I hate to admit it but after letting my boxes of puff pastry sheets sit in the freezer for what seemed liked forever (I wasn’t lying when I said that they scared me…just a tiny bit), I took a deep breath, whipped them out and got to work creating all sorts of appetizers and desserts. I only had two boxes which meant that I had four sheets of dough to get started.

With the first sheet I created delicious Apple Cinnamon Puff Pastry Twists. I used the second sheet to create Olive and Cheese Puff Pastry Squares. After taste testing these creations, I knew there was no stopping me. I immediately fell head over heels in love with puff pastry.

Now…what to do with the third sheet? That was easy. I had a ton of shredded Mozzarella cheese on hand and since I was making my Baked Ziti, I figured I would make breadsticks to soak up the sauce. As soon as I pulled them out of the oven we began devouring them one after another. We couldn’t help it…they were that good! I barely had enough to serve with dinner!

Mozzarella and Basil Puff Pastry Twists

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Unfold puff pastry dough onto a lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll dough into a 9×13 rectangle (measurement is only approximate). Using a pastry scraper or a pizza cutter, cut dough down the middle.
3. Whisk together egg and water and brush the egg wash on each rectangle of puff pastry dough (only on one side) and reserve the leftover egg wash.
4. Mix together the Mozzarella cheese, basil and Cayenne pepper and sprinkle mixture over one of the rectangles. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Place the other half of the pastry (egg side down) on top of the cheese mixture and press the two halves together using your hands or roll lightly with the rolling pin. Gently press edges to seal.
6. Using the pastry scraper or pizza cutter, cut the pastry into 1/2 inch strips.
7. Working one at a time, gently twist each strip and lay on the baking sheet making sure to press down the ends so that they don’t curl when baking. When all of the strips have been twisted and placed on the baking sheet, lightly brush each twist with the remaining egg wash.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the twists are golden brown.
9. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

I prefer to use Mozzarella cheese when making these because it has a tendency to melt and become extra gooey. However, feel free to experiment with the cheese and herbs. The possibilities are endless when it comes to making this tasty appetizer/snack!

Do you want to know what I did with the fourth sheet of puff pastry dough? Stay tuned…the next recipe post will include puff pastry and Nutella. Grab a napkin and wipe the drool from your mouth!