Pretty puff pastry Christmas trees with pesto and havarti – perfect for the Christmas table.
Puff pastry Christmas trees with pesto and cheese – these little Christmas trees really are charming. Crisp, golden puff pastry filled with green pesto and creamy havarti, folded into little Christmas trees on skewers and topped with the sweetest little cheese stars. A very simple and genuinely moreish Christmas snack that looks lovely on the Christmas table and tastes wonderful.
I love these small, cosy Christmas recipes where you need only a handful of ingredients to make something that looks extra festive. And these puff pastry Christmas trees are exactly that kind of recipe. All you actually need is puff pastry, pesto, cheese and a little egg for glazing – and, of course, small skewers to shape the trees on.
They are perfect as a little appetiser for the Christmas lunch, a crisp snack with a glass of wine or as part of a relaxed tapas spread in December. And they simply look so pretty on the table, especially with the little cheese stars on top.
Puff pastry Christmas trees with pesto and havarti
I use green pesto and havarti for my puff pastry trees, and it is a really good combination. The pesto brings plenty of flavour and the prettiest green colour, while the havarti turns soft and melting as it bakes. A good shop-bought pesto works perfectly well, but my homemade rocket pesto is also wonderful here.
I start by unrolling one sheet of puff pastry and laying it directly on the worktop. I spread it with green pesto and arrange thin slices of havarti closely on top. Then I lay the second sheet of puff pastry over it and press the two layers lightly together.
A little tip: keep the puff pastry in the fridge right up until you need it. Cold puff pastry is much easier to work with. If it gets too warm, it turns soft and is harder to fold into neat little Christmas trees.
I have also found that it is much easier to cut and lift the pastry strips when the pastry is lying directly on the worktop rather than on the baking paper it comes rolled in. Even after I had loosened the pastry from the paper, the narrow strips tended to stick. On the worktop they came away much more easily.
Once the two layers of pastry are sandwiched together, I cut them crosswise into strips about 2 centimetres wide, so each strip is the length of the short side. That gives around 16-18 strips, each of which is folded into soft waves with about 3-4 layers.
I start with a slightly wider fold at the bottom and make the folds narrower and narrower towards the top, so the pastry takes the shape of a little Christmas tree. Then I push a skewer through and lay the trees on baking trays lined with baking paper.
Before they go in the oven, I space the layers out a little along the skewers so there is air between them. Puff pastry rises quite a bit as it bakes, and that little extra gap helps the trees keep their neat shape. Finally I brush them with beaten egg and bake them until crisp and golden.
Little Christmas trees with cheese stars
One of the things I think makes these puff pastry trees extra special is the little stars on top. When I slice the havarti, I keep back a piece of the cheese and use it to cut out small stars.
I put them on top of some of the baked trees just before serving. It is such a small detail, but it looks wonderfully festive!
They also taste best when they are warm. That is when the pastry is at its crispest and the cheese is still soft and melting. So I would definitely recommend serving them warm rather than cold.
Can the puff pastry trees be made in advance?
Yes, happily they can, which makes them ideal for Christmas lunches and other get-togethers in December.
You can bake the trees ahead, let them cool completely and then store them in a bag. Before serving, simply warm them in the oven for a couple of minutes at 200°C so the pastry is crisp again.
Wait to add the cheese stars until the trees have been warmed and are ready to serve. If the stars go into the oven, they melt and the pretty decoration disappears.
These little puff pastry trees with pesto and havarti are simply one of those recipes that bring plenty of Christmas spirit without much work. Crisp, delicious and really pretty – and so easy to make that they could quickly become a fixture of your Christmas celebrations.
Puff Pastry Christmas Trees with Pesto and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
- 4-6 tbsp green pesto – click here for the recipe
- 300 g havarti – e.g. the round kind
- 1 egg, beaten – for glazing
You will also need
- 16-18 wooden skewers
Method
- Unroll one sheet of puff pastry and lay it on the worktop.
- Spread it with pesto and top with thin slices of the cheese. You will have an end piece left over – use it to cut out stars for decorating the tops of some of the trees.
- Do not slice the cheese too thickly, or the strips will be hard to fold. You can also use grated mozzarella (about 200 grams for one batch) – but it can be a little harder to control.
- Unroll the second sheet of puff pastry and lay it on top. Press the layers lightly together.
- Cut the pastry into strips about 2 cm wide – cutting across the short side, so each strip is the length of the short side.
- Fold each strip into soft waves, 3-4 layers – getting narrower towards the top. Push a wooden skewer all the way through the folds, leaving the top free so you can decorate it with a star if you like.Repeat with all the strips.
- Space the layers out a little – so the pastry can rise nicely.
- Brush the trees on their skewers with beaten egg and bake one tray at a time at 200°C in a conventional oven (top and bottom heat) for about 18-20 minutes – or both trays in a fan oven at 185°C for about 18-20 minutes. If you like, swap the trays round when there are 6-7 minutes of the baking time left.
- Serve them warm – and, if you like, brush the trees with a little pesto using a fine brush – it gives a lovely finish.
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