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Pastelitos de Queso

Crispy Cuban puff pastry turnovers filled with sweetened cream cheese and finished with a glossy sugar glaze.

40 minMediumServes 6340 cal/serving

CubanDessertOvenVegetarianNut-FreeShellfish-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeNightshade-Free

Ingredients

  • 2 puff pastry sheets, thawed
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tbsp water

Instructions

  1. 1

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. 2

    In a bowl, mix 8 oz softened cream cheese, half of the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract until smooth.

  3. 3

    Unfold 2 thawed puff pastry sheets onto a lightly floured surface and cut each sheet into nine squares.

  4. 4

    Spoon cream cheese mixture onto half of the squares, top with remaining pastry squares, and crimp edges with a fork to seal.

  5. 5

    Whisk 1 beaten egg with half of the 2 tbsp water and brush over pastry tops.

  6. 6

    Bake for 20 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

  7. 7

    Boil remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and remaining 2 tbsp water in a saucepan for 2 minutes, then brush syrup over warm pastries.

Questions

Can I make Pastelitos de Queso dairy-free?

Not cleanly. Here the dairy (8 oz cream cheese, softened) is the backbone of the dish, and plant-based substitutes change both its texture and its flavor. If you need strictly dairy-free, start from the dairy-free dessert collection instead.

Can I make Pastelitos de Queso gluten-free?

Not cleanly. 2 puff pastry sheets, thawed has no substitute that behaves the same way in this dish. If you need strictly gluten-free, start from the gluten-free dessert collection instead.

How long does Pastelitos de Queso keep?

Store it airtight: two to three days at room temperature or up to a week refrigerated. It freezes for up to two months; thaw at room temperature.

Can I halve or double Pastelitos de Queso?

Yes. As written it serves 6. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. Doubled, split it across two pans and rotate them halfway; one crowded pan bakes unevenly.

Serve it with

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