Savoury Cheese and Chive Puff Pastry Swirls

These savoury cheese and chive puff pastry swirls are made with shop-bought pastry and take minutes to prepare. The perfect snack or picnic item, you can adapt them in so many ways.

Pssttt…I’ve got a brand new compilation post up on the blog featuring 23 inspiring ready made puff pastry recipes!

I love writing my blog. I enjoy every part of it, bar the mess I make and subsequent washing up. If I had someone to clean up my mess, I would be baking and taking photos all day long. I take time to research each recipe and only add them to the blog if they are tried and tested. I love using my imagination to come up with new ideas or slants on old favorites.

Most of the time my recipes include spelt flour, and I make the effort to cook entirely from scratch with healthy, fresh ingredients. And then there’s store-bought puff pastry recipes. These are by far the most popular recipes on my blog at the moment, such as savoury cheese and onion puff pastry slices and chicken sausage rolls. The easiest, and let’s be frank, unhealthiest, things I feature. I sure understand the popularity, though.

Why is puff pastry difficult to make at home?

Everybody wants to enjoy the pleasure of biting into crisp puff pastry, but not many want to making it from scratch. I don’t think puff pastry is necessarily difficult, more time-consuming. The ingredients of puff pastry are simple: butter, flour, along with a touch of sugar and salt. Then all it needs is water to bind them all together. There isn’t much difference between the ingredients for short crust pastry and puff pastry, but it’s what is done to them that makes the difference.

Making puff pastry from scratch involves something called lamination. This is a very lengthy process, involving many rests in the fridge in between. Then, you have to be careful not to over-work the dough, as it can result in shrinkage. For me, there are just way too many variables. The risk of failure is high, so why bother when you can take a roll of pastry out of the fridge and prepare something delicious in just minutes?

Savoury cheese puff pastry swirls

The combo of cheese and puff pastry is one of my most favourite things, ever. This particular recipe involves nothing more than removing the pastry from the fridge, spreading over some cream cheese, and sprinkling a little (lot) of cheese over the top. I finished mine off with a sprinkling of fresh chives, but it’s not necessary. 

There are so many ways you could adapt this recipe:

• Add different kinds of cheese, such as mozzarella, to give more depth to the flavour
• Spice it up by adding chili flakes or jalapeño to the cream cheese
• Throw in some cooked ham, salami or shredded chicken
• Use tomato sauce (instead of cream cheese) to create pizza swirls

The pastry is then rolled up, cut into slices and baked for 25 minutes. The end result is delicious swirls of cheesy goodness with a crispy edge and soft filling. These savoury cheese and chive puff pastry swirls make amazing appetizers, a quick snack or lunch, or part of a summer’s picnic. 

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Savoury Cheese Puff Pastry Swirls

These savoury cheese puff pastry swirls are made with shop-bought pastry and take minutes to prepare. The perfect snack or picnic item, you can adapt them in so many ways. 

Course Appetizer, picnic, Snack

Keyword cheese puff pastry, cheese puffs, pastry, picnic food, puff pastry, ready made pastry, savoury cheese, snack

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12 pastries

Ingredients

• 275g (9¾ oz) ready made puff pastry (see note 1)
• 100g (3½ oz) cream cheese
• 200g (7 oz) cheese (any kind)
• sprinkling of chopped fresh chives (optional)

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 200℃ (400℉).
• Prepare a 12-hole muffin tin by lightly greasing with oil or butter (don't use too much as there is a lot of fat in the pastry).
• Roll out your puff pastry, keeping the sheet of baking paper it is rolled in underneath.
• Spread the cream cheese in an even layer over the top of the pastry.
• Sprinkle your cheese(s) over the top.
• Sprinkle some chopped chives (if using).
• Carefully, start to gently roll the pastry from the shorter side (which is facing you). Move quickly, as the pastry will start to soften once it is out of the fridge.
• As you roll, tuck the ends in a little, and try to keep the roll fairly tight.
• When ready, cut the pastry into 12 fairly even slices.
• Carefully pick the slices and place them in the muffin tin (see note 2).
• Bake for around 25 minutes, until the tops are nice and golden.
• Leave them in the tin to cool for a while, then turn them out.
• The pastries are delicious slightly warm or eaten cold. They also freeze really well. Enjoy on a picnic, for a quick snack, or light lunch.

Notes

1. It doesn't really matter the size (or weight) of your ready made pastry. However, you may need to adjust the additional ingredients if there is a big discrepancy between mine and the size you use (such as increasing or decreasing the amount of cheese).
2. The softer the pastry gets, the more fragile the slices become, and it's likely they will lose their shape a little when you pick them up. This is perfectly fine, as the pastry will fuse together when baked. Just shape them into a rough circle after putting them in the tin (but don't push down too hard).