Puff Pastry Swirls, Two Ways

Chocolate Hazelnut Swirls

Here is another one of my Sandra Lee-esque recipes using items which are ready-made. It's easy to assemble and the end result is tastier than an almost-ready-made tidbit ought to be. I got inspired to make this after recent Nutella adventures. My kids have discovered its wonderfully nutty, chocolatey goodness and have declared it to be the Best Thing EVER!

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• Nutella
• chopped hazelnuts
• melted butter
  

Directions:

1. Thaw 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry on the counter for an hour. Preheat the oven to 375.
   


2. Unfold it onto a sheet of parchment paper. If the pastry has cracked and separated where it had been folded, press the pieces together gently with your fingers. Flip the pastry over and press the seams on the other side.
   


3. Spread Nutella all over the pastry, leaving about 1/2 border around the edges.
   


4. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts on the Nutella. Press them in firmly.
   


5. Roll the pastry into a jelly roll, and slice into 10 pieces.
   


6. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of the pastry with melted butter.
   


7. Bake for 17 minutes or until the tops are nicely browned.
   

To balance out the rich sweetness of the chocolate swirls - and they are rich, sweet and delightfully chocolatey - I decided to make something savory with the remaining sheet of puff pastry. I saw many recipes for puff pastry appetizers that used spinach, but I wanted something different. I thought maybe I could use a bruschetta spread from artichoke hearts and cheese as the filling to make a nice savory treat.

I was right. These were amazing.

Savory Artichoke Cheese Swirls

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts (6 oz), drained
  
• 1 T minced shallot
  
• 1/2 cup shredded pecorino romano
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 T sun-dried tomato, minced
• 1 T mayonnaise
• 2 T shredded mozzarella
  
• olive oil
  

Directions:

1. Thaw 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry on the counter for an hour. Preheat the oven to 375.
   


2. Unfold it onto a sheet of parchment paper. If the pastry has cracked and separated where it had been folded, press the pieces together gently with your fingers. Flip the pastry over and press the seams on the other side.
3. Chop the artichoke hearts and add the minced shallot, garlic and sun-dried tomato to the mixture.
   


4. Add the mayo and the cheese. Mix well.
   


5. Spread the mixture all over the puff pastry, leaving 1/2 inch border around the edges.
   


6. Roll the pastry into a jelly roll, and slice into 10 pieces.
   


7. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of the pastry with olive oil.
   


8. Bake for 17 minutes or until the tops are nicely browned.
   

Notes:

• I could have baked these longer and let the pastry get more brown, but I had forgotten to set the timer (doofus) and honestly, they smelled too incredible and I pulled the out early. They were delicious even if they weren't very brown on top.
  

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