As I mentioned in a post last week, I do not make my own puff pastry. There’s really no need these days unless you’re doing it as some sort of flex, or you’re staging for a job in a bakery (and that would be super-mean of the potential employer to do to you).

There’s some really high-quality frozen puff pastry available in grocery stores these days, so my opinion is it’s not worth the effort unless you’re looking to pick up a skill (then by all means fill yer boots), or you’re looking for a reduction in prepared foods in your diet, or you’re living rather remote and don’t have access to quality frozen puff; otherwise, let’s be honest, even classically trained chefs are using the commercial stuff.

Once you account for the timing of defrosting your puff pastry (follow the package directions but it’s usually 2 hours room temp or overnight in the fridge), this recipe-that’s-not-really-a-recipe comes together lickety-split. As long as you have your mise en place ready to go, I solemnly swear you can have these piping hot and fresh on your dining table in 30 minutes start to finish. It’s also immensely substitutable as well; use your favourite cheeses, spices, and even go for a herby or meaty version if you like.

I believe there’s also vegan puff pastry available in some specialty stores; you can “veganize” this recipe by using flax eggs and vegan cheese. Lastly, this recipe is infinitely scalable; I’ve shown the amounts below for 12 spirals/1 puff pastry sheet, so just double everything but the egg wash ingredients for 2 sheets, and so on.

Puff Pastry Garlic Cheddar Spirals

YIELD: 12 pieces per sheet | PREP: 5 mins | BAKE: 25 mins

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: pastry brush (bristle or silicone-tipped), rolling pin, baking sheet, parchment paper (optional but recommended)

• 1 frozen puff pastry sheet, defrosted and chilled
• Bench flour (a small container with AP flour used for rolling dough on your work surface)
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water or milk or cream
• ½ cup/50g shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used a Tex-Mex pre-shredded cheese)
• ¼ tsp/1g garlic powder
• ¼ tsp/1g onion powder
• ¼ tsp/0.5g paprika (sweet, smoked or hot)
• Himalayan or Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (don’t be me; see photos below) and set aside.
2. Roll out puff pastry on your work surface, using a little bench flour to ensure it doesn’t stick. Roll out to a roughly 8″x10″ rectangle, brush any extra flour off the surface, and baste the surface lightly with the beaten egg mixture, from edge to edge.
3. Sprinkle the shredded cheese overtop, avoiding a narrow strip along one of the long sides. Sprinkle the spices and any other add-ons overtop.
4. Roll jelly-roll style from one of the long sides and seal along the egg washed narrow strip. Keep roll seam-side down to help with adhesion.
5. Slice off both uneven ends, and mark and cut 12 even pieces. Place on baking sheet and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling on the top, rotating once halfway through the baking time for even browning.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Can be served hot or cold.