This Olive and Gruyere Puff Pastry Tartlets recipe is one of my new favorite easy appetizers to throw together! Just four simple ingredients (including frozen puff pastry dough, olives and cheese) and they come together quickly for the holidays or any parties you may be having!
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Can you guys believe 2016 is coming to an end? I certainly cannot! It's been such an amazing year, not only for my family but for this little blog of mine!
I didn't know what to expect at the beginning of 2016 since I was pregnant and I knew my time would be split a bit more. But I am so appreciative that you guys stuck around and continue to hang out in this community and share in my love for food and family! <3
I have some exciting things planned for this site in 2017 and I only hope you'll stick around and get involved as I'm super excited to have you! And of course if there's anything you want to see more of or if you have any idea, please, please please reach out to me here. I'd love to hear from you!
So back to New Years! I feel there are two different ways people go about celebrating this holiday. There are the people who get dressed up and go all out, whether it be a party or a fancy dinner! There are usually bubbly beverages and fine food involved in this. Maybe even dancing (although trust me when I say you do NOT want to see me dance. It's rough. J on the other hand is a sight for sore eyes on the dance floor...).
There are also the people who like to put on their favorite pair of PJ's for a relaxing night in. This can still involve tasty food and beverages (in fact, it should!) and the banging of pots and pans when the ball drops. And heck, if a little dancing happens, I certainly wouldn't fault you!
J and I tend to fall into that second group of people. PJ's will always win for our favorite outfits and since we have young kids, a relaxing night in is generally always a welcome plan (minus the pots and pans because infant sleep). Give us tasty food, board games and a few close friends any day of the week.
That's not to say that you have to give up on finer, fancier things if you take this approach. I'm a firm believer in keeping a celebratory vibe for my New Years Eve festivities, even when they're of the casual variety. And as you've probably guessed this often translates to taking the opportunity to make some nicer foods to indulge in. Like this recipe!
I love olives and cheese, like all the best people do. And I got excited about taking these ingredients beyond you're usual cheese platter (not that there's anything wrong with a cheese platter!).
The original plan was for these to be Savory Palmier's based on an Ina Garten recipe that drew me in one day while I was watching her show at my parent's house. But when I was in the testing phase of this recipe things did not go well.
Puff Pastry can be a tricky beast, even when you're using the pre-made variety like I do. I've had great success with my Puff Pastry Breakfast Pizza (though I've received feedback that some have a tough time with that) but I had a disastrous time making those darn Palmier's. The dough kept cracking on me and when I attempted to roll and cut it, the whole operation fell apart (literally).
Now, I try to always keep in mind that when it comes to baking and cooking, especially when dealing with something as temperamental as Puff Pastry dough, any number of variables can effect the success of your final product. But after a few tries with those Palmier's I ultimately threw in the towel in the interest of the work-smarter-not-harder thought process and took a different approach.
Instead of rolling and cutting, I rolled out my puff pastry dough a bit and used my pizza cutter to cut the dough into smaller pieces before I topped them with my ingredients and baked them.
Not only was this a stress-free take with the same flavors, but the final product was so cute and pretty and tasted fantastic! These are oh-so-savory and go beautifully with a nice glass of wine.
This recipe makes around four dozen little tartlets (and the recipe can easily be cut in half by using only 1 puff pastry sheet and half the toppings). It tastes best right out of the oven, but was still tasty the next day. If you do cut the recipe in half, make sure you keep the thawing puff pastry well-wrapped in your fridge so it doesn't dry out like mine did.
Other tasty appetizer options include:
Olive and Gruyere Puff Pastry Tartlets
Ingredients
- 2 sheets of puff pastry thawed (I do this by putting into the fridge the night before- keep it wrapped so it doesn't dry out!)
- Egg wash- 1 egg with a tiny bit of water mixed in- beat it well
- 1 ½ cups of shredded Gruyere cheese divided in half
- 1 ½ cups of chopped olives of your choice divided in half (I used my mini prep processor- the olives I went with were pitted kalamata and pitted castelvetrano, but use your favorite varieties!).
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line your pan with parchment for easy clean up. Combine your chopped olives and gruyere cheese shreds. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out your thawed puff pastry dough a tad and cut the dough into 1 ½-2 inch pieces- I used a round pizza cutter to make this easier.
- Place the dough pieces on your pans with about an inch or so between them.
- Lightly brush your puff pastry pieces with the egg wash.
- Divide the olive and cheese mixture between each puff pastry piece. You don't want to put too much but the amount of mixture should be the perfect amount to cover each puff pastry piece (I had none left over, and each piece was well covered).
- Bake the tartlets for around 20 minutes, turning the pan a little more than half way through (try not to open the oven for the first 10 minutes if you can avoid it).
- Enjoy!
Notes
Try to resist the temptation to open the oven for the first 10 minutes of optimal results.
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