Cranberry Cream Cheese Pastries (Printable)

Flaky puff pastry envelops tangy cranberry sauce and creamy cheese filling—perfect for a festive treat.

# What You Need:

→ Pastry

01 - 1 sheet puff pastry (8.8 oz), thawed
02 - 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

→ Cream Cheese Filling

03 - 4 oz cream cheese, softened
04 - 2 tbsp granulated sugar
05 - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

→ Cranberry Sauce

06 - 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
07 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar
08 - 1 tbsp orange juice
09 - 1 tsp orange zest
10 - Pinch of salt

→ Optional Topping

11 - 2 tbsp powdered sugar (for dusting)

# Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a small saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cranberries burst and mixture thickens, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
03 - In a bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
04 - On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry into a 10x10 inch square. Cut into 8 equal rectangles.
05 - Place rectangles on the prepared baking sheet. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture onto the center of each, then top with 1 tablespoon of cranberry sauce.
06 - Fold the corners of each rectangle toward the center, pinching lightly to seal, or leave open for a rustic appearance.
07 - Brush each pastry with the beaten egg to promote browning.
08 - Bake pastries for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown and puffed.
09 - Allow pastries to cool slightly. Dust with powdered sugar if desired and serve warm or at room temperature.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They look fancy enough to impress but take less than an hour from start to finish, no special skills required.
  • The tartness of cranberries cuts through the richness perfectly, so they're not cloyingly sweet like many pastries.
  • Once you've made them once, you'll find yourself pulling them together whenever you need something that feels a bit special.
02 -
  • Don't skip letting the cranberry sauce cool completely, or it will melt your cream cheese filling and turn everything into a soupy mess—I learned this the hard way with my first batch.
  • If your puff pastry tears while you're unfolding it, pinch the tear together and bake it anyway; pastry is forgiving and the puff will hide small imperfections.
03 -
  • Keep your puff pastry cold until the moment it goes into the oven—warm pastry won't puff the way you want it to, so work quickly and don't let it sit out while you prep.
  • The orange juice in the cranberry sauce does more than flavor; the acidity prevents the berries from turning into a gluey paste and keeps the sauce with some personality and brightness.

Return