Spooky Pastry Puffs Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. In a small saucepan, bring water, butter, and sugar to a boil over high.
• Immediately remove from heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in all-purpose flour. Continue to stir until mixture pulls away from sides of pan, about 2 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes.
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until batter comes together. Transfer batter to a large zip-top bag; twist and squeeze bag so batter is in one corner. With scissors, snip a 1/2-inch opening in corner (or use a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch round plain tip).
• Pipe batter into desired size mounds, 1 inch apart, onto sheets. With a wet finger, smooth pointy tops. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until puffs are golden brown and feel light and hollow inside, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Steps:

• Cook's Note: There is enough marinade for up to 1 1/2 pounds of pork. Buy a whole pork tenderloin (can't really buy any less) and cut off the 9 ounces needed for this recipe. Marinate and roast both pieces and use the extra char sui to make delicious sandwiches, fried rice or roast pork salad!
• For the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, ginger, honey, bean sauce, rice wine, garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the pork, cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge to marinate for as long as possible, preferably overnight.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove the pork from the marinade and reserve the marinade. Place the pork in a roasting pan and roast until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F, about 40 minutes.
• While the pork is roasting, bring the reserved marinade to a boil in a small saucepan. Once the marinade has boiled you can take it off of the heat. Baste the pork halfway through cooking with 2 tablespoons marinade. Cool the remaining marinade to room temperature.
• When the pork is done, remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes, then cut the pork into 1/4-inch cubes. Toss the cubed pork in enough of the reserved, cooled marinade to coat. The pork mixture should be at room temperature before filling the pastry.
• For the puffs: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a roasting tray with parchment paper.
• Cut each sheet of puff pastry into six 3-inch squares, for a total of 12. Brush the edges of each square with the beaten egg and then place a heaping teaspoon of the pork filling in the center. Fold the square in half to create a triangular pastry. Tuck the triangle ends under to round off the triangular shape.
• Place on the prepared roasting tray and brush egg wash over the top. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top of the pastries and cook in the oven until the pastry is golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put a medium saucepan on the stove over high heat. Put the figs, honey, and water in the pan, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and allow the water to simmer. The honey and natural sugars from the figs should thicken the water. Continue to simmer figs until a sauce is achieved that is thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. When sauce has reached that consistency, remove from heat. Put "fig sauce" in a refrigerator-safe container, and allow cooling for at least 20 minutes.
• Spread a sheet of puff pastry out on a clean, lightly floured surface. Scoop a small amount of fig sauce on the puff pastry sheet with about 2 inches around the sauce on every side. Put a piece of Brie on top of the sauce. Carefully fold the edges of the puff pastry over the cheese. Squeeze the edges of the pastry together then carefully flip the pastry over, so the smooth surface of the pastry is facing up. Gently take the pastry and put it on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat this until all the cheese is used. You should have 8 small stuffed pastries.
• When all the pastries are on the sheet tray, take a pastry brush, and lightly brush egg whites on the top and sides of each pastry, this will give the pastry a shine when it comes out of the oven. Drizzle a small amount of honey on top of each pastry.
• Bake the pastries until the puff pastry is a golden brown. This should take about 15 minutes, but keep your eyes on the baking process. When the pastries are golden brown, remove from the oven, and allow them to cool on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool for 3-5 minutes, then serve warm.

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Crumble the oregano and salt in a small bowl using your hands and set aside.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and butter in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture forms a coarse meal. Add the cheese and 1 tablespoon ice water. Process until the mixture forms into a ball, adding extra water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed. On a lightly-floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 10-inch-diameter circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Form the dough into a flat disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle the dough with the seasoned salt. Gently roll the salt into the dough using a rolling pin.
• Cut the dough into different shapes using the cookie cutters, and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Bake until puffed and golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer that is fitted with a dough hook. Gradually stir in water until the dough holds together enough to clean the sides of the bowl. You may not need the full amount of water. Shape into a flat ball, and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
• Place the butter between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound into a flat disc using a rolling pin or other heavy object. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Place the disc of chilled butter in the center and fold the two ends over it so that it is completely encased in dough. Roll out the dough again, taking care not to let the butter break through the dough, to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold into thirds. This is the first ''turn''. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll out into a rectangle again. Fold into thirds. By this time the butter is starting to warm up. Place the dough on a baking sheet and mark it with two pokes from your finger (two turns). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Repeat this rolling, folding and turning two more times, then refrigerate until firm. Repeat two more times for a total of 6 ''turns''. Wrap and refrigerate. The dough is now ready to roll out and use in any recipe calling for puff pastry. Roll the dough out as thin as 1/4 inch to make pastries. Bake in a preheated oven of at least 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) to get the maximum puff from your pastry.