Food

Easy Puff Pastry Recipes

April 18, 2013

Store-bought frozen puff pasty is surprisingly versatile, easily transforming any fresh vegetables and fruits on hand into elegant appetizers or desserts.

Herbed Tomato Tart — Made with ripe cherry tomatoes and fragrant herbs, this tart is both delicious and beautiful.Todd Coleman

Napoleons — This classic French pastry, whose name means thousand leaves (for its delicate multiple layers), is known as the napoleon. The name is probably a reference not to the diminutive Corsican emperor, but to the multilayered confections of Naples.Helen Rosner

Palmiers — We adapted a simple recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything to make these delicate French cookies. Sugar-dusted and flaky, with a toothsome bite, they're also a great way to use up leftover puff pastry.Helen Rosner

Chicken Pot Pie — Classic, comforting pot pie gets an elegant boost with the addition of shaved black truffles.Landon Nordeman

Bacon and Egg Pie — This New Zealand combination of flaky pastry, canary-yellow yolks, and salty bacon has cross-cultural appeal. Get the recipe for Bacon and Egg Pie »Penny De Los Santos

Onion Tart with Goat Cheese — This gorgeous tart has it all—sweetness from the caramelized onions, earthiness from the goat cheese, and a subtle saltiness from the anchovies. Get the recipe for Onion Tart with Goat Cheese »Helen Rosner

Treviso and Gorgonzola Tart — Delicately flavored treviso is combined with pungent gorgonzola and baked atop pillowy puff pastry.Maxime Lattoni

Kale Tarts with Fennel and Olives — Kale and fennel lend a unique sweetness to these briny puff pastry tarts. They're perfect as appetizers, savory breakfasts, or as an accompaniment to a bowl of warm, wintry soup.MacKenzie Smith

Onion and Anchovy Tarts (Pissaladières) — Based on the classic French caramelized-onion tart with olives and anchovies, these little two-bite hors d'oeuvres pack a flavorful punch.Todd Coleman

Seasonal Squash Tart — Get creative with the topping for this tart, which will help to really stretch leftover squash and other vegetables. Store-bought puff pastry makes a simple dish even simpler. Get the recipe for Seasonal Squash Tart »Anna Stockwell

Baked Brie with Raspberry Jam — There's a reason this recipe is a classic party appetizer: crowned with jam and wrapped in puff pastry, a wheel of brie turns into a gooey, irresistible treat that's great eaten with crackers or toast.Farideh Sadeghin

Chocolate Puff Pastry — Buttery homemade puff pastry only gets better with a touch of chocolate. Adding a little cocoa powder to the butter block transforms the pastry into a barely sweet, delicately chocolaty version of itself.Ingalls Photography

Jerusalem Artichoke and Comté Pasties, British Pies — Pasties were originally made for miners—they could hold the pies' thick edging with dirty hands and discard it after eating. James Lowe updates the pedestrian pasty by marrying tender, earthy tubers with melty cheese for the filling. Get the recipe for Jerusalem Artichoke and Comté Pasties »Bill Phelps

Homard en Croûte (Lobster Pot Pie) — Brandy adds even more luxuriousness to these creamy lobster pot pies. Get the recipe for Homard en Croûte (Lobster Pot Pie) »Ingalls Photography

Seafood Newburg (Lobster, Scallops, and Shrimp in Sherry Cream Sauce) — While Lobster Newburg was first served New York City’s Delmonico’s restaurant in 1876, Boston’s Union Oyster House does a first-rate job with the dish, incorporating not just lobster, but scallops, shrimp, and a vol-au-vent, a puff-pastry shell filled with creamy Newburg sauce.Ingalls Photography

Banana Tarte Tatin — Try using tart, apple-like Manzano bananas for this delicious take on the classic French dessert, which is traditionally made with apples.Todd Coleman

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