Appetizers
Spinach Puffs
Description
Last weekend, my girlfriends and I gathered for our Annual Girls’ Christmas Beauty Bash. In what has become one of my favorite holiday traditions, we each bring a wrapped beauty or cosmetic item of a set value, food, and a bottle of bubbly, then gather to sip, eat, giggle, and play what has become an increasingly heated gift exchange game. I baked these Spinach Puffs and wrapped up this pretty set of lipsticks, which I fully admit I was tempted to steal for myself during the game.
Ingredients
- 4 strips thick-cut bacon
- 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese Neufchâtel, cut into large pieces
- 2 large eggs divided
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 10 ounces frozen spinach (1 package) thawed and thoroughly pressed dry
- ½ cup crumbled feta about 2 ounces
- ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan about 1 ounce
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry (9- or 10-inch) thawed overnight in the refrigerator (I like Pepperidge Farm)
Directions
- Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake bacon according to these directions for Baked Bacon. Let cool, then chop or crumble into bits. Spray 18 total cups in two standard muffin tins with nonstick spray.
- Meanwhile, place the cream cheese pieces in a wide microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 10 second bursts until the cream cheese is very soft and melty but not so hot that it is steaming. Stir in 1 egg, garlic powder, black pepper, and oregano until well combined.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, feta, Parmesan, and chopped bacon with a fork, breaking apart the spinach. Scrape the cream cheese mixture on top of the spinach mixture, then stir the ingredients until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Unfold the first sheet of pastry on a lightly floured surface and gently roll to remove any creases (it will be a 10- or 11-inch square). Cut the pastry sheet into 9 even squares (three squares across and three down—they will be a little more than 3 inches on each side). Line the wells of the muffin pan with the pastry squares so that the center is pressed on the bottom of the muffin cups and the corners over hang the sides (see photo in blog post above). If needed, stretch the squares to be a bit larger so that they extend all the way up the sides. With a spoon or small scoop like this one, portion the spinach filling by heaping tablespoons and place it in the center of each muffin cup, dividing it evenly among the 18 cups.
- Bring the four points of each puff pastry square together towards the center so that they cover the filling, then lightly press them together in the middle (no need for them to totally stick or seal). In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg to make an egg wash and brush it over the tops of the pastry (you will not need the whole egg).
- Bake the puffs, one muffin tin on each rack, for 21 to 24 minutes, until puffy and deeply golden, switching the pans' position on the upper and lower racks halfway through. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife carefully around the edges to gently loosen them. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
