Red, White and Blue Pastries are perfect for making when fresh berries begin to appear in markets and farm stands. They are so easy to make!
Red, White and Blue Pastries
These puff pastry pockets are filled with jam and a sweetened cream cheese, and then they’re topped with fresh berries. They’re for breakfast, they’re for lunch, and they’re for dessert! And they’re kind of perfect for a patriotic holiday like Memorial Day or 4th of July or just a spring/summer treat.
🛒 Ingredients Needed:
- puff pastry
- raspberry jam
- sparkling sugar
- powdered sugar
- cream cheese
- heavy whipping cream
- fresh raspberries
- fresh blueberries
✏️ How to make Red, White and Blue Pastries:
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
Sold in the freezer section as sheets or shells, Puff Pastry thaws at room temperature in 40 minutes. Lay out two sheets of thawed Puff Pastry on a flat surface. Cut each sheet into 9 to 12 equal squares (depending on the size of your star cookie cutter). Then take a star cookie cutter and cut stars out of 1/2 of the squares. Place the intact squares on a baking sheet.
Place a spoonful of jam (raspberry… blueberry… strawberry) on each of the Puff Pastry squares. Place the cut out squares on top of the jam squares.
➡️ Tips and Substitutions:
- Use blueberry jam (or any other flavor) in place of the raspberry.
- Add blackberries or any other favorite fresh berry.
- Make these super-duper easy, and leave off the cream and fresh berries!
Seal the edges of each Puff Pastry square with the tines of a fork. Sprinkling with chunky white sugar is an optional step (I did it).
Bake for 20 minutes. You can put the stars on a separate baking sheet and sprinkle them with goodies or whatever. This is where the “puffing” happens, as you can see from the photo!
Fresh out of the oven, you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Let them cool completely while you make the filling. The filling is simple: cream cheese + powdered sugar + cream.
Scoop the filling into a piping bag and pipe it into the star center of each pastry. If you don’t have a fancy schmancy piping bag, just spoon it into a plastic zip bag, snip the corner and squeeze it on that way.
✔️ How to store pastries:
Patriotic red, white and blue pastries are best after having been refrigerated for an hour of so. They will stay fresh stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Add a few fresh berries on top! The filling firms up a little after chilling, and then you bite into it and get a mouthful of flaky Puff Pastry layers, a hint of jam, a dollop of sweet cream filling and fresh fruit too!
❤️ What I Love About This Recipe:
- They’re awfully pretty for a patriotic party or brunch!
- They’re delicious. The filling tastes a bit like cheesecake.
- It’s a great way to use up fresh berries.
Favorite Pastry Recipes:
Patriotic Red White and Blue Pastries
Ingredients
PASTRY BASE
- One 17.3 ounce package puff pastry, thawed
- 12 tablespoons raspberry and/or blueberry preserves
- chunky, sparkling white sugar (optional)
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
FILLING
- 6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream (liquid cream)
TOPPING
- 12 medium fresh raspberries
- 36 medium fresh blueberries
Instructions
PREPARE THE PASTRIES:
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Line one large, rimmed baking sheet and one small baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat mats.
- Lay each sheet of puff pastry onto a cutting board. Slice each piece of puff pastry into 12 equal squares (you could do fewer, depending on the size of your star cookie cutter). Place ½ of the squares equally spaced on your large baking sheet. Use a small star cookie cutter to cut the centers of the remaining ½ of the puff pastry squares (if you don't have a star, you can cut a circle or a square instead. Remove the stars to a separate small baking sheet. Spoon a tablespoon of jam into the center of each of the (uncut) squares on the baking sheet. Top each jam-filled square with one of the cut-out star squares. Use a fork to seal the edges of each square together (just press down to make a fork-mark along the edges). Sprinkle white, chunky sugar on top, if using.
- Bake the pastries for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet.
ADD THE FILLING:
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese and sugar. Add the cream, and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy and thick enough for a piping bag.
- Scoop the filling into a piping bag with a star tip and squeeze the filling into the center of each pastry. Garnish with fresh berries. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or until ready to serve.
Notes
- If you don’t have a piping bag, you can always scoop the filling into a zip baggie instead, cut the corner and squeeze the filling out of the corner to fill the pastries.
- Change up the jam and fruit toppings as you wish.
- Pastries will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours (keep in a covered container)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I teach cooking camps to children, in my home, and have used this recipe twice, successfully! The kids love getting to work with puff pastry and seeing it do its thing. It added something different for my Patriotic Theme Day. Thanks for developing it!
Super idea ! I actually do the same thing, only different, !…I
spread with a little mayo mustard..then a square of deli ham,
and havarti cheese…and bake for tasty appetizers ;0 )
I made these for our 4th of July festivities and got rave reviews! They are not very complicated, but end up looking so professional. I am new to your site and have already made 3 of your recipes! I can’t wait to try more!
This looks amazing, but you say to cut it into 12 pieces. I’m only counting 9.
It all depends how small your star cutter is. I ended up cutting mine into 12- 4 strips – only show 3 strips and 9 pastries in the pic. I’ll have to change it so it says 9 to 12. Sorry for the confusion!
Oh wow! These are so much fun and they look delicious 🙂