The first Christmas Brunch recipe I’m sharing is my favorite item on the whole menu, “Everything” Cheese Pastries.
My inspiration for these delicious pastries came from two sources: my favorite bagel (the everything bagel), and the gorgeous blog, White on Rice Couple. I had been thinking about how to transform the everything bagel into a pastry, and when I saw their lovely recipe for Strawberry Crossover Puff Pastries, I immediately knew I wanted to make my own version…a savory pastry, reminiscent of an everything bagel stuffed with cream cheese.
These beautiful pastries make a delicious breakfast served with just a bowl of fruit and a cup of coffee, but they’re also special enough to serve as part of a festive holiday brunch.
- ¾ teaspoon poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon dried onion flakes
- ¼ teaspoon steak seasoning (see Note)
- Flour, for rolling out the pastry
- 1 sheet (about ½ lb) puff pastry
- 4 oz cream cheese (low-fat is fine)
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for eggwash
- If frozen, thaw the puff pastry at room temperature for 40 minutes or in the fridge overnight. Preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner.
- Combine the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried onion flakes, and steak seasoning in a small bowl and set aside.
- Lightly flour your hands, the surface you want to roll the pastry out on, and your rolling pin. Roll out the pastry to a rectangle slightly over 16 inches wide and 8 inches tall and trim the edges so you have straight lines. Lightly flour the top of the pastry and cut the rectangle into 4 pieces, each about 4 inches wide and 8 inches tall.
- Fold each piece of pastry in half, bringing the two farthest sides together. Use a knife to cut strips (about ¼ to ½ inch wide and 2 inches tall) along the edge of the dough through both layers; be careful not to press the layers of dough together too much.
- Lay the pastries out on the prepared baking sheet. Place 1 oz cheese in the center of each pastry; bring the right strip farthest from you across the cheese, then bring the left strip farthest from you across the first strip. Continue alternating strips this way, making sure that each strip overlaps the previous. Repeat this process on the remaining pastries. Lightly press down on the top of each pastry to help seal the strips together.
- Brush the tops of the pastries with eggwash (you will have extra eggwash; don't try to use it all), then sprinkle ½ teaspoon of the seasoning mixture on top of each pastry.
- Bake until the pastries are puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Update (December 10, 2014): I made this dish again and snapped a few pictures, so I decided to update the photos in this post.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
What a fabulous way to dress up a bagel. Definitely a perfect addition to a holiday brunch.
I love everything bagels and crackers. What a great idea to use puff pastry and cream cheese! You always have the best ideas, Faith. We’re having a family Christmas party, so I think this would be a great appetizer.
Faith,
Nice puff pastry. I love puff pastry sure cheese in them makes more tasty.
I can see why this is your favorite menu item from your holiday brunch! This is ingenious and looks so tasty! I would love to try these :)
Oh, girl, you’ve outdone yourself! Well, you always do. This is brill-I so have to try it! ooooh, I can just taste them now.
That’s certainly what I’d start with at a brunch! It looks so good!
holy moley Faith, i LOVE these “everything” cheese pastry! cream cheese and pastry are two of my weaknesses, so i must say, you are a girl after my heart with these. just looking at these beauties makes my outh water. the way you criss crossed the pastry adds a beautiful touch. can i also say i love the dried onion flakes? such little flakes, but an explosion of flavor. great way to balance out the creamy taste with these onion flakes and steak seasoning.i would love to try these some time. bookmarking this for sure! great start to your brunch, my dear.
Mmmmmmm so delicious!
One of the best combos! Those look so good.
Cheers,
Rosa
Wow, but these look good, must try these for sure. Diane
Oh you’re so clever Faith! I bet as a kid you were always inventing cool new things to play with! :D
Looking at these is making me so hungry, they look delicious. I love your lattice work, very pretty daaaaahling.
*kisses* HH
Genius! Absolutely positively genius. Everythings are my favorite. And cheese STUFFED is also my favorite. I think I might have to come over for brunch.
Oh my, I am drooling here, puff pastry and cheese… yummyyyyy
I am bookmarking this recipe. I love everything bagel and this pastry is right up my alley!
Your pastries look absolutely wonderful. Bookmarked, and can’t wait to try them!
Gorgeous little pastries. They look utterly perfect for Christmas brunch, or any other brunch for that matter!
These are incredible Faith! I’m thinking of adding them to my Christmas brunch menu!
Cheese pies for breakfast are the best. I love yours they are so fluffy and crunchy.
These puff pastries look so yummy, love the cheese filling and the “everything” topping, this is an excellent brunch dish for sure!
WOW- that is so gorgeous. I would be super excited to see this come out at a restaurant, yet alone at someones house! Beautiful work. I bet that filling is heavenly
I bought puff pastry two days ago. It will turn into these in a matter of hours. Seriously, Faith, these look great …
Looks fantastic! What a great idea! You are so creative!
Those are stunning! Everything bagels are my favorite, too. YUM! But I definitely need a mint afterwards! I think I’m going to take this recipe home for the holidays to make with my mom!
Wow I can totally are these being a huge hit! They look wonderful and full of everything tastiness.
Pastry with cream cheese filling….now you are talking! I wish I had one now.
I am sure glad you were so inspired as this looks easy enough to make and I can tell it would be delicious. I tried that kind of cheese this past summer in France and fell in love with it. I didn’t know that is was exported. I know we don’t have it in Edmonton, yet!
:)
Valerie
They look amazing,Faith!I would love a couple with a cup of coffee! Did get my e-mail? You are the $150 gift card winner :)Congratulations!
A Canadian Foodie — Oh, I’m sorry for the ambiguation! I use American Neufchatel, which is similar to cream cheese but with a slight tang. Cream cheese would also work well here though.
Erica — I’m so excited, thank you so much!!! I just emailed you. :)
Wow! Now, that’s a bagel in black tie attire. ;)
Oh wonderful work on the puff pastry with the design, very clever. And anything cheese is awesome. We stopped at a cheese maker on the way back home from Quebec City yesterday…got lots of cheese so may try this very soon.
So delicious! I love cheese bagel and will say yes for this!
All I can think of after seeing these great little creations is how I would accompany the smooth cheese with some smooth chocolate too…maybe even some roasted nuts! Ohhh…my mind is going wild ;o)
Have a wonderful evening,
Claudia
These are gorgeous! Bet they’re delicious, too :)
These look stunning! I wouldn’t need to eat anything else if I was handed one of these on Christmas morning. I would float right up to heaven. The seeds are such a pretty touch! Thank you so much for sharing with me tonight. I hope you have a wonder-filled Friday!
Oh my goodness, Faith. Those look truly fantastic. You know I’m over anything bagel and cheese!
These are exquisite looking. I can’t wait to try making them!
Oh my gosh, this looks incredible!
Wow! Great photos – it looks so delicious! Everything bagels are my favorite, too and having it and the cream cheese (or neufchatel) in a savory pastry. YUM
puff pastry and cheese. frankly, i’m not sure the savory side of things can get any better than that. :)
These sound fabulous! Like double duty treats with the pastry and cheese all in one!!
Wowie wow wow! A combination of a cheese danish and bagel. Now that is really fresh!
Spectacular…I love your inspiration and how delicious this looks! It’s right up my street! YUM!!
Looks Yummy! I have a small addition to everything bread. One way to make it easier-there is this WONDERFUL stuff from Eureka, CA. They sell “everything” in a bottle! Its called slug slime, you can order it online for around $4. Love it!
http://losbagels.com/what-slug-slime
these cheese puffs are so beautiful and tasty~
These are so adorable and sound delish! I’m searching for brunch recipes and have to give these a try.
Everything bagels with cream cheese are my absolute favorite breakfast… I can only imagine that this would make a great way to get the same flavors, especially now that I’m so far from my favorite NYC bagels.
I have happily just discovered your blog. What great posts and inspiring recipes – thank you. These cheese pastries look delicious and just the thing for a lazy weekend breakfast :D