The holiday season is fast approaching, and that means that social media is buzzing with a fresh new batch of cozy and festive foods. There’s been viral variations on mac and cheese and cinnamon rolls, but those have been done before. If you’re looking for something a little more special (and a little more fun), I have the recipe for you: gingerbread puff pastry.
On Instagram, creator Yujung (@_yu.jung) posted a recipe video that explains how to make these gingerbread pastries step-by-step. In her video, she uses a sheet of puff pastry cut into rectangles, and lays them flat on a baking sheet. On the top half of each rectangle, she places a square of chocolate (almost the same width of the pastry rectangle). On top of the chocolate, she places a small gingerbread-man cracker and folds the end of the puff pastry up, creating the appearance of tucking the gingerbread man into a puff-pastry bed (with a chocolate pillow). She then uses a fork to seal the edges and brushes with egg wash. When they come out of the oven, these pastries are crispy on the outside, melty on the inside, and perfectly golden-brown. It’s no surprise that this video got 8M views, 220K likes, and glowing comments like “THIS IS SO CUTE!”
Other creators have also hopped on this trend, but with their own spin. Tamara Varis (@ramona.varis) tops her sleeping gingerbread pastries with powdered sugar. And for a more Christmas-y look, she also replaces the gingerbread cracker with a mini frosted gingerbread man (complete with Christmas-themed accessories), which she adds after the puff pastry and chocolate are done baking.
Neilo (@cozyoven.sf) makes hers with a teddy bear instead of the gingerbread man, and also decorates her puff-pastry bedsheet with a small red candy heart. The recipe was so adorable, it attracted the attention of 16M viewers and 530K likes on Instagram.
If you want a more classic gingerbread look, try these pastries by Larisa (@fitfoodielarisa). Larisa doesn’t separate the puff pastry into rectangles — instead she lays the whole thing flat and spreads a thick layer of chocolate spread (such as Nutella) over it. She then folds the sheet in half so that the chocolate spread is sandwiched in the middle. Using a cookie cutter, she cuts out gingerbread men from the folded puff pastry and brushes with egg wash. Once out of the oven, they have a golden-brown and slightly-crackly exterior with a rich chocolate interior. For extra festivity, dust these with powdered sugar before serving. It’s very fitting that the song on this video is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” because after watching these recipes, I can confidently say: all I want for Christmas is some gingerbread puff pastry.