5 desserts to make using puff pastry

Puff pastry is one of the most versatile ingredients in the baking and pastry arts. If you’re feeling up for a challenge, you can make it from scratch, but store-bought puff pastry makes it possible to whip up appetizers, snacks and desserts in a flash. Whether you have a sweet tooth or are looking for something a bit more savory, puff pastry is the perfect ingredient for forming turnovers, tarts and twists. All in all, for the avid baker, puff pastry is a must-have in the kitchen. Here are five dessert recipes to get you started with this awesome ingredient:

1. Croissants
Croissants can easily be made by cutting puff pastry into triangles and rolling them up with your favorite filling. You can make this as simple or elaborate as you choose. For example, Gimme Some Oven fills croissants with Nutella and eggs, whereas you could try to roll them full of goat cheese and homemade fruit compote or something a bit more complex.

2. Turnovers
Similar to a croissant, a turnover can be made with nothing more than puff pastry and the filling of your choice. The main difference is that with a turnover you only need to fold over the pastry once, whereas croissants need to be rolled up. Therefore, a turnover gives you the opportunity to add more filling than a croissant.

3. Napoleons
A Napoleon is a dessert with unknown origins, but it basically resembles a layered cake or dessert version of a lasagna. Also known as a mille-feuille, a Napoleon alternates between layers of puff pastry and pastry cream, and the top layer is usually decorated with whipped cream, chocolate or another garnish. However, you can get creative with this dessert as well by adding fruit such as strawberries or blueberries.

4. Palmiers
Palmiers, sometimes called elephant ears or palm leaves, are one of the easiest pastries you can make, and only require two main ingredients. Essentially, if you have puff pastry and granulated sugar, you can make a batch of delicious palmiers. What’s more, the signature shape of these cookies makes them a visually pleasing dish to bring to any party or get-together.

5. Twists
According to Annie’s Noms, some variations of twists can be made in as little as 20 minutes. All you need is puff pastry and a few other common household ingredients, such as butter, cinnamon and sugar.