This is a great appetizer for Sunday's football game! We've been enjoying these amazingly tasty bites for a few years now and I generally like to keep some in the freezer to pop in the oven.
Buy your puff pastry today, thaw it in the refrigerator and tomorrow you can have these put together and tucked into the freezer to bake on Sunday!
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 - 4 cups sliced button mushrooms
- 1 large onion or 2 medium, sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- about 1 cup shredded cheese (your choice, swiss, mozzarella or gruyere)
- 1 package puff pastry, thawed but cold *
- 1 egg, beaten
- Melt butter in a large fry pan, and add the mushrooms and onion. Stir occasionally over medium heat until the the vegetables are tender.
- Add, the sugar, balsamic vinegar, and thyme. Continue to fry until the onions and mushrooms have caramelized and the liquids have reduced. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool to room temperature. Add the cheese and combine.
- If using the block of puff pastry, roll it out to about an 1/8 inch. I roll mine to about 14 X 14
- Cut a thin border around the rectangle to clean up the edges and then cut the rectangle into approximately 1 1/2 - 2 inch squares. A pizza wheel works great for this.
- Brush each square with beaten egg and then drop a heaping teaspoon of onion, mushroom mixture onto the center of each square. Arrange on a lined cookie sheet and freeze before putting into freezer bags or refrigerate until ready to bake. (within a day)
- Preheat oven to 400. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Do not open the oven while the pastry is puffing but once they are beginning to brown, rotate pans if necessary.
* In Canada, puff pastry is available in a 397 gram block and I purchase Tenderflake. Look for it by the frozen pie shells. In the US you can buy it already in sheets, and I believe it would be about a pound so you would just thaw and proceed with step #4. Since the sizes vary, you may get a few more made out of the US box. Do not be afraid to thaw, prepare and then refreeze. I've been making these for several years and they still bake up beautifully. Just be sure to keep the pastry cold and bake it when it is cold!
Makes about 3 dozen
Oh Lovella - this caramelized onion and mushroom mixture sounds wonderful. Pretty sure I have a block of puff pastry in my freezer right now and needed some inspiration on what to do with it!
ReplyDeleteThis is the sort of thing I can overdose on. Yum-mee! Will try soon.
ReplyDeleteQuick question - on step 4 - are they ready to bake then, or do you need to refrigerate to really cool everything down? Might sound dumb, but better safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteI would cool the prepared pastries down once more. To be honest, I always prepare them and freeze them and bake them right from the freezer so I am not sure how successful it would be to bake them right after preparing them. I know puff pastry puffs up best if it is cold when it hits the oven.
DeleteJust to let you know that we made them for Super Bowl - they were delish! I wonder what kind of cheese you like to use. We used a combo of shredded cheddar, gruyere and a smoked mozz. Yum.
DeleteWanted to follow up to let you know that this has become a favorite recipe of ours. Perfect for bringing to a pot-luck appetizer party this time of year! Again: Thank you for sharing it.
DeleteI have bought sheets of puff pastry in Canada, I believe it was the Presidents Choice brand.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa. I'll have to check that brand.
DeleteCan I make these and keep them in the freezer for a few weeks? They look delicious
ReplyDeleteYes, they stay perfect in the freezer for a few months if they are packaged well and as airtight as possible.
DeleteThese look gorgeous. Can they be cooked straight from the freezer or need to be defrosted first? If they can be cooked from frozen, is the cooking time any different?
ReplyDeleteThey can be baked right straight from the freezer and I wouldn't defrost them first. Watch them for baking time. They can go from perfect to slightly too brown real quick.
DeleteLovella, there is a small bakery in Chilliwack called Benanna bakery. They sell awesome full sized sheets of puff pastry. (Approx 15"by 18") in a box of ten sheets. They also sell small squares (not blocks) that measure approx 6" by 6". They sell other baking supplies too!
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting us know that! That's excellent information.
DeleteSounds so good. I've got some puff pastry in the freezer so am certainly going to try this.
ReplyDeleteThis calls for shredded cheese but no quantity suggested. What amount do you typically use? Can almost taste how good these are just reading the recipe.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, I've added in about 1 cup of shredded cheese now to the recipe. It isn't a hard and fast rule. Thank you.
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