Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pecan Puffy Twists (AKA Shady Characters)
If you need a quick and tasty, slightly sweet treat for breakfast or dessert, these Shady Characters Puff Pastries are exactly what you need! These are very basically palmiers, but with the slightest bit of cream cheese added, Some people are WEIRD and don't like cinnamon, or nuts. so you can omit them and simply use cream cheese and sugar. Use your imagination, the sky's the limit with these. You could even use a thin layer of jelly or jam instead! *As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry One box usually has two sheets. This recipe uses one sheet. Double the filling recipe, or try another filling for the other sheet! All butter is the best.
- 6 tbsp cream cheese
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp pecans Optional. You will need to use ground or finely chopped. You could use hazelnuts, or walnuts...
- 1 tbsp white sugar More or less depending on how you like them!
Instructions
- Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions. (Remove puff pastry from freezer about 30 minutes prior to making the pastries. or allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)
- I recommend chilling the pastries prior to baking, so have some flat surfaces in the fridge or freezer ready to accommodate your baking sheets, if possible. If not, just work quickly, and have your oven at 400° ready to bake! You will probably need two cookie sheets per 1 sheet of puff pastry. I recommend lining the baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix cream cheese, cinnamon and 1/2 tbsp sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Taste for sweetness. If you want it sweeter, add the other half tbsp of sugar! Feel free to add more cinnamon or even some nutmeg if you want to!
- Dust your counter or work surface with flour or white sugar, and gently roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry. Don't roll it too thin, just enough to smooth out the folds.
- With a spatula, quickly spread the cream cheese mixture over the entire pastry. It should be a thin layer.
- Sprinkle 2 tbsp ground or finely chopped nuts over the cream cheese.
- If you want a basic palmier shape, roll the dough equally from both short sides for large palmiers, or roll from the long sides for small ones. Roll the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate, or freeze for thirty minutes before slicing them and baking. You can even roll it up jelly roll style.
- If you want to shape these like I did, fold the dough in half so you have an almost square shape. Using a sharp long knife, or better yet, a pizza cutter. Cut into about 12-15 even strips.
- Work quickly to shape the strips, or put the dough back into the refrigerator if it's getting too soft. Twist into whatever Shady Character shapes you want and put them immediately onto the lined baking sheet.
- I recommend popping these cuties in the fridge or freezer for a good half hour before baking. If not, get them in the oven asap at 400° and bake for about 10-14 minutes, or until golden brows.
- Place cookie sheet on a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes before gently sliding them off the baking sheet to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- These are best served right away while crispy, but they are just as tasty the next morning!
Notes
If you like these easy puff treats, try my Nutella Pecan Shady Characters! You can do whatever you want with the filling. Just sugar and cinnamon? Go for it! Just cinnamon? Sure! I think I'm going to try cream cheese peanut butter next!
Nutrition
Calories: 153kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 74mgPotassium: 29mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 95IUCalcium: 11mgIron: 0.6mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!