Pesto Puff Pastry Christmas Trees
Happy December! Who is ready for Christmas recipes?! We are kicking off the month with a festive savory recipe! So many festive recipes are often sweet, but these little Pesto Christmas Trees are savory and actually very simple to make!
All you need is frozen puff pastry sheets, pesto sauce, some wooden skewers, and a yellow bell pepper. A mini star-shape food cutter is also helpful, but not necessary!
After cutting each sheet into thin strips, I simply brushed some pesto sauce on and folded the strips into a tree-like shape, stuck a wooden skewer and baked until puffed and golden! After they come out of the oven, I like to brush a bit more pesto sauce on top to add more green to the trees. Then I use a small star food cutter to cut out some yellow bell pepper stars and voila!
I actually prepared these the night before I photographed them and realized while making them that some step-by-step photos might be helpful. Please excuse the fact that I took these in a darkened kitchen with my crappy cell phone! As you can see, you don’t need a ton of pesto for brushing in between the layers and it can get a bit messy, but trust me that once they are baked up, they are not at all messy to eat!
A couple of things to note before you get started: First, make sure you soak your wooden skewers in some water for a good 30 minutes or so before baking to prevent them from burning in the oven.
The second thing is you can serve these just laying down on a platter or you can try standing them up using cubed pieces of mozzarella or provolone cheese. This was sort of an afterthought for me when photographing them so all I had was some string cheese. I sliced some pieces but I’m not going to lie, it was pretty frustrating to try to stand these up. If you want to give it a try though, I recommend buying a block of cheese and cutting more substantial cubes of cheese that might be better able to support the trees.
Pesto Puff Pastry Christmas Trees
Pesto Puff Pastry Christmas Trees - These festive puff pastry trees use frozen puff pastry sheets, pesto sauce, and bell peppers - so simple to make!
Ingredients
- 12 mini wooden skewers
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 cup prepare pesto sauce
- 2 yellow bell peppers
Instructions
- Soak the wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes to avoid burning.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice each puff pastry sheet into about twelve 1/3-1/2 inch thick strips. Brush about 1-2 teaspoons of pesto on top of the strip. Then take each strip and fold and form into a tree shape (see photos). Holding the tree shape together (see note), slide a soaked wooden skewer through the center of each tree and lay onto a large lined baking sheet.
- Bake the trees for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Let trees cool for 5 minutes and brush on additional pesto sauce if desired.
- Cut the bell peppers into large sections and discard the seeds. Use a knife or food cutter to cut star shapes. Place a star at the top of each tree. Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, cut cubes of white cheese to use as a stad for each tree.
Notes
It's important to sort of squeeze the trees together as you place the skewer, they will expand when baking so they tighter they are before baking, the more they will hold the tree shape!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 treeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 139Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 118mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g
