- 12
Ingredients
- 2- 17.3-oz. packages frozen puff pastry
- 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 7 Tbs. granulated sugar
- Seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean (or 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 2 tsp. crème de cassis or chambord raspberry liquor
- 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
- Confectioners’ sugar for finishing
Preparation
Step 1
Thaw 3 sheets of puff pastry overnight in the refrigerator.
Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.
In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, 3 Tbs. of the sugar, the vanilla bean seeds (or extract), and 1 of the egg yolks. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined and smooth.
Combine the blueberries, 2 Tbs. of the sugar, the cornstarch, crème de cassis, and salt in another medium bowl and mix gently.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each pastry sheet into a 10-inch square. Using a 4-inch round cutter (or a small plate as a guide), cut out 4 rounds from each sheet. Arrange them on 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets.
In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg yolk with 1 tsp. water. Brush the outer edge of each pastry round with the egg wash. Dollop 1/2 Tbs. of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each round. Top with 1 Tbs. of the blueberry mixture. Fold in half to form a half-moon shape and pinch the edges together to seal them. Lightly brush each pie with egg wash and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. of the remaining sugar. With the tip of a paring knife, cut a steam vent in the center of each pie.
Bake until golden-brown, about 25 minutes, swapping and rotating the baking sheets’ positions about halfway through. Cool slightly on the baking sheets and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Before serving, sprinkle the pies with confectioners’ sugar.
These are best within a few hours of baking.
Note:
There seemed to be a lot of waste of puff pastry by cutting the circles (and the "pies" were awfully small). I decided to make them into turnovers instead of empanadas by not cutting circles but cutting the 10-inch (or slightly larger) squares into smaller squares thereby using all of the puff pastry. There is still enough filling and you can follow the rest of the recipe exactly and not have any waste.