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Made with buttery puff pastry and your choice of a sweet or savory filling, this puff pastry Christmas tree is an easy and fun holiday breakfast, appetizer, or dessert!
I am not the kind of mom that makes holiday-themed treats all too often. Most of my Christmas recipes are based more on seasonal flavors than dressing the treats up like Santa or reindeers.
But every once in a while I will whip up something that’s just as cute and festive as it is delicious. Sometimes it’s snowflake sugar cookies, sometimes it’s melted snowman cookies, and sometimes it’s Christmas light cupcakes.
And sometimes it’s this puff pastry Christmas tree.
This recipe is especially great because it’s so versatile. It’s cute enough to thrill your kiddos but still elegant enough to serve at your annual holiday party. Plus, you can change up the fillings to make it a sweet treat or a savory snack!
What is a puff pastry Christmas tree?
This puff pastry Christmas tree is a sweet or savory treat made with two sheets of puff pastry and the filling of your choice.
After sandwiching the puff pastry around your desired filling, you cut the whole thing into a triangle and create twisted “branches” to turn it into a tree. Top the whole thing with a puff pastry star and it becomes a Christmas tree!
I consider this to be a “tear and share” recipe. Folks can tear off the branches to snack on, eventually leaving the “trunk” of the tree for even more deliciousness.
Since you can use any spread you like for the filling, you can turn it into a Christmas morning breakfast, a holiday appetizer, or a sweet and simple dessert.
I’ll even share some tips for prepping it ahead of time! After all, we love a make-ahead recipe.
How to make a sweet or savory puff pastry Christmas tree
This puff pastry Christmas tree looks really pretty and elegant, but it’s really quite simple to put together. If you love working with puff pastry to make recipes like my puff pastry apple tart, puff pastry cinnamon rolls, or cherry turnovers, you’re gonna adore this recipe, too.
Ingredients you’ll need
You only need a small handful of ingredients to make my puff pastry Christmas tree:
- 2 sheets thawed puff pastry
- ¼ to ⅓ cup sweet or savory spread
- 1 large egg
- Flaky salt for sprinkling (savory version only)
- Powdered sugar or parmesan cheese to finish
Before you start assembling your tree, make sure both sheets of the puff pastry are thawed according to the package directions. I find the fastest and most reliable way to do this is to let it rest on the countertop for about 30 minutes.
What filling you use is up to you! I have a whole bunch of ideas listed below under “filling options” for you to check out.
I like to top my savory trees with a bit of flaky sea salt before baking, but that’s optional.
For a pretty snow-like effect, dust your finished trees with powdered sugar (for sweet fillings) or Parmesan cheese (for savory ones).
Making this recipe
To assemble your puff pastry Christmas tree, start by rolling one of the puff pastry sheets out on a lightly floured surface into a 10×13-inch rectangle. Carefully move this to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Spread your filling over this sheet of puff pastry. Make sure it gets all the way to the edges!
Now repeat the rolling process with the second sheet of pastry and place it on top of the first sheet, sandwiching the filling in the middle.
Now it’s time to turn this into a tree!
Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the pastry into a large triangle. Set aside the trimmed corners, but don’t discard them. If you want the tree to have a trunk, cut that shape from the bottom of the triangle, setting aside the trimmed corners.
To make the branches, start from the bottom of the tree and cut into the tree at 1-inch intervals. Make sure you leave a 1-inch uncut strip in the middle for the trunk.
Leave the top 3 inches or so of the tree uncut, since those pieces would be too short to twist.
Carefully twist each strip. You’ll be able to twist the longer strips 3 times and the shorter strips 1-2 times.
Use a knife or a cookie cutter to cut a star from the scraps. Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water to create an egg wash.
Use the egg wash to “glue” the star to the top of the tree, then gently brush the entire tree with the egg wash.
At this point, you’ll still have some scraps left. I like to cut these into strips, twist them, and bake them too for extra snacks. Place them on a separate baking sheet or arrange them around the tree – just make sure they don’t touch each other or the tree.
If you’re using a savory filling, now is a good time to lightly sprinkle the top with a bit of flaky sea salt.
Bake the tree at 375°F for 20-25 minutes. You want the top to be deeply golden and the bottom to be cooked through.
Let the tree cool for 5-10 minutes before dusting it with powdered sugar or Parmesan cheese and serving.
Filling options
You can use just about any sweet or savory spread as the filling for your puff pastry Christmas tree. Some of my favorite sweet fillings include:
- Jam
- Nutella
- Biscoff spread/cookie butter
- Apple butter
- Pumpkin butter
- Cranberry sauce
Use a savory filling to turn this into a festive appetizer for your annual Christmas party. Some of my favorite savory fillings include:
- Basil pesto
- Sun dried tomato pesto
- Olive tapenade
- Caramelized onion jam
- Bacon jam
- Pepper jelly
Make-ahead tips
If you’re serving this puff pastry Christmas tree for a Christmas-morning breakfast or a party appetizer, you probably want to prep it ahead of time.
Make the tree as described, but leave off the egg wash. Place it in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 hours before baking. Brush with egg wash just before baking.
If you need to make it more than a few hours ahead, place the pan in the freezer. Once the tree is frozen though after 1-2 hours, you can wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.
When ready to bake, unwrap and place the tree on a lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and bake from frozen according to the recipe directions, adding a few minutes on to the baking time if needed.
Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed
- ¼ to ⅓ cup sweet or savory spread see notes
- 1 large egg
- Flaky salt for sprinkling savory version only (optional)
- Powdered sugar or parmesan cheese to finish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, unfold one sheet of the puff pastry. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry into a 10×13-inch rectangle. Carefully transfer the pastry to the prepared baking sheet.
- Spread your desired filling over the pastry, making sure to get to the edges.
- Roll the second sheet of puff pastry into a 10×13-inch rectangle. Place it on top of the first sheet, sandwiching the filling between the two layers of pastry.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the pastry into a large triangle. Set aside the trimmed corners; do not discard. If desired, cut out a trunk shape from the bottom of the triangle, setting aside the trimmed pieces.
- Now, starting from the bottom of the triangle, cut into the tree at 1-inch intervals, leaving an uncut strip of about 1 inch down the center for the trunk. Leave the top 3 inches of the tree uncut, since those pieces would be too small to twist.
- Carefully twist each strip; twist longer strips 3 times and the shorter pieces at the top of the tree 1-2 times.
- Use a knife or cookie cutter to cut a star from the scraps. Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and use this egg wash to stick the star to the top of the tree. Brush the tree with the egg wash.
- Cut the scraps into strips. Twist them and place them on a separate baking sheet (you can place them on the edges of the first pan if it is large enough, just make sure they don’t touch the tree). Brush with the egg wash.
- If using a savory filling, lightly sprinkle the top of the tree and extra strips with a bit of flaky sea salt.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is deeply golden and the bottom is cooked through.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar if using a sweet filling or top with freshly grated parmesan cheese if using a savory filling.
Notes
- Jam
- Nutella
- Biscoff spread/cookie butter
- Apple butter
- Pumpkin butter
- Cranberry sauce
- Basil pesto
- Sun dried tomato pesto
- Olive tapenade
- Caramelized onion jam
- Bacon jam
- Pepper jelly
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
