Strawberry Bites

11 o’clock night is Mr.Geroge Lopez time in my household daily.The husband  religiously watchs Lopez Tonite and even more religiously keeps on uttering through whole 1 hour how soft-witted he is ! With all due respect to the multitalented entertainer, the only section I like in the show is when Mr. Lopez discusses his cheesy sweet tweets which is probably 3-5 minutes or so ..rest whole 55 minutes are really difficult to keep my interest going though I enjoy the live band(?) which the show has.By the way….I have to ask you this …can’t help it …Has any one of you noticed the trademark neck jhatkas [jerks]of Mr Lopez after every joke he cracks? oooooh man!!! its killing…Well you know !

Now, you may well ask what Mr. Lopez gotta do with this post….well I ll tell you… It was Wednesday night last week when the wits felt so flat that to come back to normalcy I had to bake something and that is when these sweet little strawberry bites were born!!!! You may find it really erratic to think that I can bake sooo late in the night…well I m like that only…impulsive & abnormal (okay sometimes)!!

I made a quick thick strawberry mush in the microwave while the puff pastry thawed and topped the pastry sheet with the mush,rolled it and baked it the oven. It was super easy, super crispy and super tasty.And the most important of all….I managed to avert an argument with the husband though Mr. Lopez has been trying hard for sometime now So the late nite baking deal was not bad after all ! Imagine popping these into your mouth at 1 o’ clock in the night…yum yum yum:)

The only thing to be kept in mind is that the strawberry mush you are using has to be super thick & super sticky ..a jam/preserve like consistency else it will just run out while baking.If you are too enthusiastic you can even make a pastry dough at home…however at 11 o’clock in the night I had no patience & willingness to do it! Given a choice I would have even used a strawberry jam but had none though while writing now I remember that I had an apricot preserve..so next time I ll use that maybe!! Another thing I will tell you before hand …they became a little soft the next morning  but still tasted good .Having said that please don’t come back and complain about it if u cant hear that churrrrrr sound the next day

Also I m so sorry coz I could not take a single picture while I was making these so can’t post any of the helpful stuff ….I took pictures of the finished product the next day of whatever was remaining ….so bear with me!!! Another good thing is that these last for 3-5 days at room temperature so you can probably think of making a big batch too but keep in mind the soggy issue!!! So enough of my blabbering nw….below is the recipe!

What I needed:

3 puff pastry sheets , thawed
1 cup fresh strawberries , crushed
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp honey (or any sweetener adjust to taste)
pinch of cinnamon (cinnamon)
1 tbsp butter to brush on top (optional)

How  I did it :

Making the strawberry mush :

In a microwave safe bowl mix together strawberries, lemon juice & honey.
Microwave this mixture  on 100 percent power for 4-6 minutes, then stir and continue to microwave at 100 percent power for 4-7 minutes till a sticky,jam like consistency is achieved. You can do the same thing on stove top also.
Take the mixture out and let it cool.

Making the puffs :

Unfold the pastry dough and when ready to handle,with the help of a rolling-pin make the cracked edges smooth.
Pre heat the oven at 350 F. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
Spread generous amount of strawberry mush on the pastry sheet making sure to leave a 1-inch border towards the edges. Sprinkle cinnamon[if using]
Gently fold the side edges and start rolling over from end near to you . Continue to roll the sheet away from you until the filling is completely sealed in and the seam is on the bottom.Pinch & twist the ends also.The prepared roll should look like a wrapped toffee..
Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.Brush the top with melted butter. Make cuts in on the top of the roll about 1/2  inches wide .
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.Take out and let the roll cool.
After cooling , with a sharp knife , cut & discard the ends .Cut the remaining roll into into 2-3 inch long rolls .Drizzle with your choice of  glaze or caramel sauce or top with some whipping cream.

Notes:

In place of strawberry, you can use blackberry or raspberry or blueberry.Just make sure that the mush is of the right consistency sticky & thick!
Now ever one’s microwave & oven settings are different so the times I have mentioned in the post will vary!Adjust as per your appliance.

Enjoy!

Strawberry

Sending these to Champa’s Bake Off Event

Sending this to Vegetarian Foodie Fridays #18