Take-out Tuesday, Last Minute Party Braid!

the Painted Apron

4 years ago

As we count down to Christmas, 3 days away,

this last minute appetizer is perfect for holiday gatherings

It makes a pretty presentation and guess what?

It’s actually very easy to put together

AND!

You can adapt the recipe to use ingredients you already have!

If you have a sheet of puff pastry,

you can work magic!

I try to keep puff pastry in my freezer

and I always have blue cheese and bacon in the fridge

and nuts in the pantry…

I also had a sweet onion and a jar of fig jam

I will give you variation ideas at the end of the post

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper

Roll it out a little to make a thinner dough

and spread a layer of fig jam down the center section

Top the jam with caramelized onions

Sprinkle blue cheese over the onions

Next add walnuts

Bacon

Cut the dough on the sides into 1 inch strips

Fold the dough on the end up over the filling

and bring each cut strip up and over dough at a slight angle,

alternating side to side

Brush with beaten egg for a glossy dough

and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until golden

Last Minute Party Braid

This sweet and savory puff pastry braid is full of bacon, walnuts, blue cheese, onions and fig jam. It is perfect for a last minute appetizer for gatherings because it can not only be assembled in minutes, it makes such a pretty party presentation. The filling can also be varied in numerous ways for your taste or what you have on hand!

Course Appetizer, Brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon, blue, & fig pastry, party pastry braid, puff pastry appetizer, puff pastry braid

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Servings 10 slices

Equipment

parchment paper

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup fig jam
3/4 cup caramelized onions
1/2 cup walnuts I used candied walnuts
1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
3-4 slices bacon, cooked and torn into pieces
1 egg beaten with a Tbsp of water

Instructions

Place pastry dough on a piece of parchment paper and roll out a little to thin dough
Spread fig jam in an even layer down the center 1/3 of pastry, leaving a 1/2 in border on each end
Top jam with onions and sprinkle with blue cheese
Place walnuts on top of cheese and nuts, then top with bacon pieces
Cut dough from filling to edges in 1 inch intervals
fold dough over the bottom of filling then begin folding dough strips over filling at a slight angle, alternating side to side to form braid.
Braid can be wrapped in the parchment paper and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking if desired.
Brush beaten egg over braid
Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes until dough is golden
Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing into 1 inch pieces

Notes

*substitute crescent roll dough or sheet, or pizza dough for puff pastry if desired. Reduce baking temperature to 375 for crescent roll dough and cooking time may be shorter so check during baking. If using pizza dough bake at 400 and check often, time will depend on type and thickness of dough

Here’s a printable list of braid filling variations