When I was thinking about a nice spread of appetizers to put out, I wanted finger foods, easy to pick up while holding a glass of wine. Guests can pick up bites as they roam around and mingle. (I don’t actually have a party planned at the moment. This is just the kind of stuff that floats around in my head on a daily basis.) I have seen (and eaten) cheese twists and I love the way they look, long and elegant, twisted and flaky. You know it will be buttery. As much as I love cheese, I will probably already be serving cheese (in my hypothetical party), and I am anal about variety. This version, using sun-dried tomatoes and thyme is still buttery and flaky, twisted and variegated, yet will pair perfectly with the cheese and not compete with it.

Thyme and Sun-Dried Tomato Twist 2

Everyone loves just about anything made with puff pastry, yet it’s so easy, I almost feel guilty. You’ll see two ways to make these ahead of time at the end, which makes this party perfect and too easy to pass up.

Thyme and Sun-Dried Tomato Twists

Thyme for Sun-dried Tomato Twists
~makes 12 to 13 twists

  • 1 sheet (1/2 of 17.5 oz package) frozen puff pastry
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomato (from sun-dried tomato packed in seasoned oil)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Instructions –

1. Allow puff pastry to thaw on counter for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set up a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. You may need two.

puff pastry

2. Unfold puff pastry and roll to roughly 10×14 on a lightly floured surface. In a small bowl, whisk egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush onto the puff pastry. Set egg wash aside for later. Cut in half to form 2 pieces, each 10×7. At this point, I like to move the puff pastry to a cutting board so that it’s easier to cut later.

egg wash

3. Spread sun-dried tomato and thyme on one piece of puff pastry. Place the other piece on top, egg wash facing down. Press down gently, with a little extra pressure at the edges.

sundried tomato and thyme 2

4. Score the puff sheets lengthwise at 1/2″ intervals, without cutting all the way through. Cut pieces with sharp knife or a pizza wheel (this is easiest).

scored puff pastry

5. Twist and rest on parchment lined baking sheets, one inch apart. Pinch ends. Brush with egg wash.

twists before baking

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Cool for a few minutes and serve warm or room temperature. They’re best the same day.

Thyme and Sun-Dried Tomato Twists 4

Make-Ahead

Version 1: If you just want to make it earlier in the day. You can make them in the morning, leave them in room temperature and serve as is or warm in the oven at 350 degrees F for two to three minutes.

Version 2: You can also make it up through step 5 (just before baking them) and freeze them. Once they are stiff, you can keep it in a freezer bag. Whenever you want the twists, you can spread them on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until golden.

sun-dried tomato twists on plate 3

posted by jessica at 03:37 PM Filed under American, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.