Easy Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
An easy holiday appetizer idea for your Christmas party or gathering, here’s how to make a puff pastry Christmas tree!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
Finding festive and easy appetizers can be a challenge sometimes! With all of the hosting that comes with this time of year, I am all for the food and decor that makes the biggest impact while taking the least amount of effort, and this holiday appetizer is it! This savory puff pastry tree turned out so cute and it only took about 15 minutes to make. It’s a fun detail that makes for an easy Christmas party food guests will love to snack on!
This is a very flexible holiday appetizer recipe, and a great one to make with the kids.
How To Make The Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
For this recipe, you’ll need 2 puff pastry sheets (store bought is fine, but if you’re ambitious, you can make your own!), and for the filling: two tablespoons each of pesto, cheese (goat cheese or cream cheese), and grated pecorino cheese. You’ll also need one egg, beaten, to brush on top of the pastry before putting in the oven.
First, mix your goat or cream cheese and pesto together in a bowl. Depending on the flavor you want, you can try different pestos such as tomato pesto, basil, or other pesto spreads.
Roll out your first sheet of puff pastry. Here you can cut the pastry into a tree shape (long triangle with the trunk at the end), or you can wait until you’ve added the pesto and topped with a second layer, giving you extra pieces of this yummy appetizer. Spread a thin layer of the pesto mixture end-to-end. Sprinkle with pecorino.
Next you’ll unroll and cover with your second sheet of puff pastry, which you’ll then cut to match the tree shape.
Cut “branches” into both sides of the triangle - basically twistable stripes that begin at the trunk all the way through the sides. Next, twist each branch like you would to form a breadstick, twisting away as you go.
Brush your tree with the beaten egg, add a sprinkle of pecorino, and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until golden!
How to Display Your Holiday Party Food
Give this recipe a try and pick up one of these pretty charcuterie boards to create a beautiful display! These ramekins are a great size for sauces and dips and mixing in some twinkle lights to your food displays can add the perfect amount of holiday sparkle!
If you’d like, serve it with a dipping sauce like you would breadsticks or any puff pastry! Like I said, I enjoy serving this on my round cutting board, which has a handle for easy transport. I also set it on top of these beautiful block printed cloth napkins to make it extra festive. Now, guests can easily pull apart and enjoy the treat at their leisure.
Another tip: If you are in need of something sweeter rather than savory to round out your holiday party spread, you can quickly modify this puff pastry tree into a dessert by changing the filling! Try jam mixed with the cream cheese or another sweet filling and voila!