These Homemade Puff Pastry Shells are simple to make. They make a great make-ahead vessel that can hold so many amazing sweet or savory fillings.
I know I say it quite often, but these homemade puff pastry shells truly are as simple as it gets. Now, let’s get to it.
Homemade Puff Pastry Shells
Ingredients: Makes 12 shells
- 1 egg, beaten (1 egg and 3 tablespoons water whisked together)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 sheets of defrosted puff pastry
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Beat egg and water together in a small bowl.
Using puff pastry dough as cold ad possible. Unfold the pastry sheets and brush the top of the dough with the egg wash. Cut 9 rounds from the puff pastry sheet/sheets using a 2-⅛ inch round cutter. Using a 1-½ inch round cutter, cut through the precut 2-inch rounds leaving it together. Place the cut round on top of the uncut 2-inch round. (Note: You can freeze the raw assembled rounds, store in a freezer bag and bake at a later time.)
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately or freeze in freezer bag for later use.
Filling suggestions: There are a million things you can fill them with. These are just a few suggestions.
- Fresh Fruit: topped with whipped topping
- Preserves: any flavor you like
- Pie Filling: any will do with a sprinkle if nuts or a fun topping of your choice
Grenache: any flavor of chocolate will do topped with- Ice Cream: any flavor you choose topped with dessert sauce of your choice and whipped topping
- Melted Cheese: with a sprinkled nuts or jam that compliments the cheese.
- Sautéed Mushrooms: just place a puff pastry cap on top.
- Meatballs: topped with a bit of marinara sauce
- Scrambled Eggs: sprinkled with a bit of cheese and bacon crumbles
- Poached Egg: place a small piece of ham or Canadian bacon in the bottom and top with Hollandaise sauce.
Notes: The key to making your puff pastry shells is to make sure your dough is very cold, and firm before you start cutting our your shapes. You need good sharp round cutters to achieve nice clean cuts. If you use cutters that aren’t sharp it will mash the layers of pastry together preventing the layers from rising and will bake into odd miss-happened shapes. The egg wash aids in sealing the two layers together so don’t skip this part of the recipe. If you’d like bigger shells, use 3-inch and 2 ½-inch cookie cutters, follow the same instructions and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. One thing to keep in mind is you can freeze the raw assembled rounds and bake what is needed at a later time.
You may be asking, why not buy puff pastry shells ready made? That’s a good question. The answer is simple; you get a whole lot more out of two puff pastry sheets then you can buy for the same price. Then there’s the fact you can make the size you need. So there you have it.
What’s so cool about these little guys is you can fill them with so many things. Savory or sweet, they make delightful bite size treats.
Time to eat…
If you enjoyed my “Homemade Turnovers,” check out my Chocolate Kiss Peanut Butter Cookies, Crispy Chocolate Bars, or my Chocolate Pots. Enjoy.
P.S. Take a moment to check out and purchase some of the tools I used for this “Homemade Turnovers” below. 🙂