Olive and Cheese Puff Pastry Squares

I’m about to admit something that is completely embarrassing so please don’t make fun of me too much. Here goes nothing…when I was younger, I used to put black olives on my fingertips and run around the house like a little olive monster…and my parents have pictures to prove it. In fact, my love for olives was so out of control that my Mom started calling me Olive Oil. There, I said it. Go ahead and laugh.

Obviously, my obsession with olives started when I was very young. My Mom would always buy special olives from the deli that were stuffed with so many delicious flavors. I would grab the container out of the refrigerator and devour them one after another.

Well…it turns out I’m not the only one who loves to snack on olives. My husband, more often than not, always makes sure that we have pimento-stuffed green olives on hand for our insane cravings.

Over the weekend, I decided to graduate from eating olives straight out of the jar to actually creating a delicious appetizer that combined our two loves: cheese and olives…oh, and puff pastry.

Olive and Cheese Puff Pastry Squares

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped black olives
• 1/2 cup chopped pimento-stuffed green olives

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roll out puff pastry sheet onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the sheet into squares.
3. Whisk together egg and water and brush mixture over the squares.
4. Mix together the Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle about one tablespoon over each square.
5. Mix together the chopped olives and sprinkle about one tablespoon over the cheese-covered squares.
6. Bake for 10 minutes and serve immediately.

To learn more about my newfound love for puff pastry, be sure to stop by The Confident Mom’s blog today to see my recipe for Apple Cinnamon Puff Pastry Twists.