When I make Portuguese Egg Tarts, I sprinkle the puff pastry with cinnamon sugar, roll up the puff pastry, cut about 2 cm lengths and roll out to fit a muffin tin (recipe is on the site). The fist time I made them, I accidentally rolled a few pieces using too much pressure and they became really thin, too thin to hold the beautiful custard filling. Rather than press it together and re-roll it, I placed it on a parchment lined baking tray and baked it. Loved the outcome and the result is 2017 Christmas Treat #11 – Cinnamon Sugar Puff Pastry Chips.
Nothing complicated about these, the trick is to make sure the puff pastry is not too warm or it becomes difficult to roll. Be generous with the cinnamon and sugar – taste the mixture to ensure it is evenly blended and a pleasant taste i.e not too much cinnamon. Then roll it up tight – don’t fret it if it opens up when you cut it. You need to roll it flat and this will automatically seal any openings the pastry might have. Bake until puffy and cooked. Remember to rotate trays front and back as well as up and down to offset any hot spots your oven might have.
These are amazing and will go really fast so make extra. You can also use these to garnish or decorate other holiday fare. They would look and taste marvelous along the sides of an iced cake, stand them up and press into the icing. You can make these oblong or rounder, just depends on your rolling skill. If you roll them too thin, they can be difficult to move to the parchment lined tray so if you tend to be heavy with your rolling pin, perhaps just roll them out on parchment or hand press them. Either way, make lots – who doesn’t like cinnamon and sugar on puff pastry! Crazy I tell you! As always – enjoy!
1 Package PC Puff Pastry
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 to 1 tbsp cinnamon – start with 1/2 then add a bit more as required
Combine the cinnamon and sugar – taste it to ensure you have a pleasant tasting concoction, too much cinnamon can be overwhelming, too little – underwhelming (how’s that for fence sitting?!)
Unroll the puff pastry sheets
Liberally spread the sugar mixture on top – press it into the puff pastry by running over it with a rolling pin
Start at one end and tightly roll the puff pastry sheet – use the parchment it comes with as a guide
When you get to the end, pinch to seal
Return the puff pastry to the fridge if it has become warm and sticky
When ready to bake – heat the oven to 400f
Cut the roll into 1 cm widths – you should get about 25 – 30 pieces
Quickly roll each piece to flatten – the thinner the crispier, thicker yields puffier results and will take additional baking time – most like 1 to 2 minutes more
When the baking tray is full, bake for 4 – 6 minutes
When baked, remove from the oven and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar while still hot
Let cool before storing in an airtight container – control yourself, there’s only a few days left before Christmas!\
