Guava and Cheese Pastelitos

Pastelitos are one of my favorite things, EVER! They are essentially puff pastry, stuffed with guava paste and cream cheese. Uh, yum. Pastelitos are a Cuban treat. When my husband and I were in college, a little Cuban restaurant opened in the gas station right by our apartment. You could guarantee every Saturday, we were there picking up Pastelitos, Cafe Cubano, and a Cuban Sandwich. We loved that place SO much and were so sad when we moved! Unfortunately, I have yet to find a new Cuban bakery/restaurant near me, so I had to learn how to make these myself! This is probably not the traditional way to make these, but I can promise you that this way is easy and definitely satisfied my craving. These are easy to make and are definitely delicious! My Instagram post made have had you thinking I only ate one, but don't be fooled, I ate 4.5 of these!!! If you make any of these recipes, be sure to tag me! Instagram- @lifewithsarahdavis Facebook- @SarahElizabeth

Author: Sarah Davis

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 8

Keywords: Breakfast, Easy, Pastelito, Guava, Cream Cheese, Cuban

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen puff pastry (defrosted)
  
• 1/2 block of cream cheese
• 1/4 block of guava paste (see picture below)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Coarse Sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place 1 defrosted puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and gently roll. I rolled until I "sealed" the seams and could no longer see them. Then cut the sheet into 4 equal squares. (cut in half horizontally, then cut in half vertically.) Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry.

3. Cut your guava paste thinly. I would say around 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Place on one side of the puff pastry square (you will be folding these over).

4. Cut your cream cheese. This can be a little thicker than the guava paste. Place on top of the guava. Repeat until each square has guava and cream cheese.

5. In a bowl, mix together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash around the outside edge of the puff pastry square. Fold over and seal edges with a fork. Repeat process.

6. Place these pretty far apart on a baking sheet, it's called puff pastry for a reason. (LOL I learned this lesson the hard way when I cooked with it for the first time in college) Brush the top of each with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

7. Bake for 20 minutes until top is golden brown.

Notes:

1. These can be stuffed with only guava paste, if you prefer.

2. If you get nervous, like me, before brushing the top with egg wash, use a sharp knife to put a small slit at the top of each Pastelito, for venting.