Puff Pastry Pinwheels

When I was a bit younger, one of the things I looked forward to about the holiday season was the proliferation of savory appetizer options in the grocery store freezers.

My favourites all involved buttery puff pastry wrapped around some form of flavourful, cheesy filling, and presented in all kinds of fun shapes.

The best part was that minimal effort was required on my part. I’d toss these quick appetizers into the oven, and a few minutes later I’d have hot, flaky puff pastry goodies.

While these fancy filled puff pastry bites were generally intended as a party appetizer - and touted as elegant enough to serve at a holiday brunch - I saw them more as a quick snack.

I was never a party person, but I couldn’t resist those flaky layers of dough and tasty fillings. Much nicer movie snack than popcorn, IMHO!

My favourite of the lot was called something like “Cheese hors d’oeuvres collection”, by President’s Choice.

It’s changed a bit over the years - they used to be sold in shapes - a different one for each of the 4 filling types - but now they’re all square-ish puffs.

I think that may have been the format of the cheese and onion one, back in the day? Can’t remember. I think tomato was a triangle, and mushroom was a half circle?

Anyway, I decided to make a homemade version of this delicious appetizer.

This delicious recipe for pinwheel pastries can be made ahead, in a couple of ways.

1. You can make the filling one day, then assemble and bake the cheese pinwheels the next day, if needed.

The filling needs to chill a bit anyway, it’s not big deal if you let it chill a bit LONGER.

2. You can make the whole pinwheel recipe right up to the point of baking, then freeze it.

Once you’re ready to serve them, you can treat them just like the store bought puff pastry appetizers - toss them in the oven, and you’re good to go!

Either way, your guests will love these super tasty, pretty pinwheels.

Let’s get to it...

Ingredients

This recipe is actually 4 recipes in one - the ingredients list looks long, but that’s really only if you make all 4 fillings. Feel free to just make one or two, if you prefer!

Either way, the fillings all use simple ingredients that are easy to find in most grocery stores.

A few notes for you:

Puff Pastry

Store-bought puff pastry can be found in the dessert portion of the freezer section.

While you can definitely use a homemade butter puff pastry to make this recipe, I’m FAR too lazy for fussing with homemade puff pastry.

The store-bought puff pastry sheets work well, so that’s what I go with!

Cheese and Mushroom Puff Pastry Pinwheels:

To make the mushroom cheese filling, you will need:

Crimini mushrooms
Onion
Cream cheese
Dry white wine
Olive oil
Cornstarch
Dried Thyme
Salt and black pepper, to taste.

You can substitute other types of mushroom if you like, just aim to keep the weight of the mushrooms - after trimming, if necessary - about the same as called for.

Onion & Cheese Puff Pastry Pinwheels

To make the cheese and onion filling, you will need:

Cream cheese
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Parmesan Cheese (Grated cheese)
Onion
Dijon mustard
Corn starch
Dried Parsley
Smoked Paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste

Sometimes I’ll add a couple crushed garlic cloves if I’m in the mood for it, but I usually stick close to the source material - it’s fantastic as-is!

Spinach and Cheese Puff Pastry Pinwheels

To make the spinach and cheese filling, you will need:

Fresh baby spinach
Ricotta Cheese
Feta Cheese
Onion
Garlic cloves
Lemon juice
olive oil
Corn starch
Dill Weed
Ground Nutmeg

If you prefer to use fresh herbs, use about 1 tablespoon of fresh dill, or to taste.

On the other side of things, if you prefer to use Garlic Powder, you can use ½ teaspoon in place of the fresh cloves.

Additionally, feel free to add some fresh lemon zest, if you want more citrus kick!

Tomato & Cheese Puff Pastry Pinwheels

To make the sundried tomato & cheese filling, you’ll need:

Sundried Tomatoes
Cream cheese
Feta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Garlic cloves
Corn starch
Onion Powder
Smoked Paprika
Salt and pepper

A few notes on this one:

1. You can substitute provolone cheese for the mozzarella if you like.

2. You can substitute Roasted Red Peppers for the sundried tomatoes, just be sure to drain them well (I’ll blot with paper towels). You can also add an extra teaspoon of cornstarch to make up for the added liquid.

3. If you want a bit more kick, feel free to add some Red Pepper Flakes.

Custom Variations

Want to go your own way?

Start out with some soften cream cheese, and add any shredded cheese you may like - tossed in a bit of corn starch first.

From there, consider the main flavourings:

You can make pesto pinwheels with either store-bought pesto or Homemade Pesto.

Black olives work well, chopped up and added to the cheese.

You can chop up some well-drained (and blotted) canned artichoke hearts, and either add it to the spinach filling recipe, or make your own with artichoke, spinach, cream cheese, maybe a bit of provolone. It could be like spinach artichoke drip, just in fancy pinewheel form!

How to Make the Different Fillings

The full recipe for each of the fillings is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, here is a pictorial walk through of the process.

Mushroom & Cheese Pinwheel Filling

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan.

Add the mushrooms and onions, cook over medium heat until softened and cooked down.

Add wine, continue to cook - stirring frequently - until all of the liquid has cooked off. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle corn starch and thyme over the mushroom mixture, stir well to combine.

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add mushroom mixture, stir until well combined.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cover mushroom mixture with plastic wrap, chill for at least 2 hours.

Cheese & Onion Pinwheel Filling:

In a food processor, blitz cream cheese and mustard until well combined and smooth.

Use a cheese cloth to squeeze most of the moisture from the shredded onions. Discard the juice, add the onion pulp to the bowl of cream cheese, blitz to combine.

In a separate small bowl, combine the cheeses, corn starch, parsley, and smoked paprika.

Add the cheese mixture to the food processor, blitz until well combined and smooth.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill until use.

Cheese & Spinach Pinwheel Filling

Heat Olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat.

Finely chop the spinach - I like to use the food processor for this.

Add spinach and onion to the pan. Cook until spinach is wilted and onions are soft and cooked down.

Add garlic, cook for one more minute, or until all excess moisture has cooked off. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a food processor, blitz together the ricotta, feta, and lemon juice.

Mix together the corn starch, dill, and nutmeg. Add to the food processor along with the cooled spinach mixture, blitz to combine.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill until use.

Cheese & Tomato Pinwheel Filling

In a food processor, blitz together the cream cheese, feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and garlic until smooth.

Combine mozzarella, Parmesan, corn starch, onion powder, and smoked paprika in a medium bowl, tossing well to coat.

How to Make Puff Pastry Pinwheels

See the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full recipe. Here is the pictorial walk through of the techniques.

Roll Assembly

Before getting started, let your puff pastry roll defrost, per the instructions on the package.

Lay one sheet of puff pastry out on a clean work surface - if using a silicone baking mat - or a clean, lightly floured surface.

Using a rolling pin, lightly, gently roll the puff pastry dough - slightly - to flatten it out a little.

Spoon half of one batch of filling onto the pastry sheet.

Using an offset spatula - or the back of a spoon - spread the cheese mixture in an even, thin layer across the surface of the puff pastry, leaving a 1" strip along one long side of the pastry.

Starting with the edge across from the bare strip, roll the pastry up - jelly-roll style - towards the bare end. Aim to make it a relatively tight log.

Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water, brush a thin layer of it on the bare strip of pastry.

Continue rolling, gently pressing the egg wash strip against the main “jelly roll” body to seal it.

Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry, and any other fillings you may be doing / more sheets of puff pastry.

Wrap each whole roll - separately - with plastic wrap, chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F, line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Once thoroughly chilled, unwrap a roll and place it seam side down on a cutting board.

Use a very sharp knife to cut into ½-inch slices - I usually aim for about 15 slices per roll. Try to keep the pinwheel shape slices the same thickness.

Place slices onto a prepared baking sheet, leaving 2" between the pieces.

Note!

You can use a pastry brush to brush the pinwheels with egg wash or melted butter if you like, I usually don’t bother - there’s a ton of fat in the pastry already, and they bake up golden brown even without an egg wash.

Also: for best results, pastries should be COLD when they go into the oven. If you’re making a large batch, place cut rolls in the fridge as you work on others.

Bake for 15-18 minutes in the 400 F oven, or until golden brown, puffed, and cooked through.

Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly on a cooling rack before serving.

Leftovers

These are best served soon after baking. If you’re making more than you anticipate using in one sitting, I recommend freezing the unbaked pinwheels (see below).

If you do find yourself with leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and store in the fridge for a day or two. Best reheated in an air fryer or toaster oven.

To Freeze for Future Use:

Once raw pastry rolls are cut, arrange in a single layer on parchment lined baking sheets. Cover and freeze until frozen through, usually a couple of hours.

Once frozen, transfer pieces to labeled freezer baggies. Remove as much air as possible - ideally vacuum seal them - and return to the freezer for up to 6 months or so.

To Bake from Frozen:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Arrange frozen pastry pinwheels on parchment lined baking sheets, bake for 20-22 minutes or so, until golden brown, puffed, and cooked through.

To Air Fry from Frozen:

Preheat air fryer to 375, cook for 10 minutes or so, or until golden brown, puffed, and cooked through.

More Fancy Finger Food Recipes

Planning for a special dinner, whether Valentine’s Day, a special date, or a fancy dinner party? Here are a few recipes to consider!

Ahi Tuna Nachos
Apple Roses
Cucumber Shrimp Canapes
Deviled Strawberries
Fancy Tea Sandwiches
Fig, Honey, and Goat Cheese Studel
How to Make Cream Puffs & Croquembouche
Jalapeno Beer Baklava
Marinated Feta
Mini Baked Potatoes
Mini Jamaican Beef Patties
Mushroom Brie Turnovers
Phyllo Crab Triangles
Profiteroles
Seafood Mousse
Shrimp & Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms
Smoked Salmon Bagel Bites
Smoked Salmon Canapes
Spanakopita Triangles
Wine Battered Deep Fried Brie

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