Flakey puff pastry, perfectly sweet cream cheese, and that delicious guava paste combine to make an amazing treat. These pastelitos are the perfect companion to your morning cup of coffee or just an anytime snack.
What You’ll Need for This Recipe
Frozen Puff Pastry: Pepperidge Farm is the most popular brand but any puff pastry that comes in square sheets will work. You could make your own puff pastry for this recipe but that’s a whole lot of work.
Turbinado Sugar: I like a little extra crunch and sweetness on top but this is totally optional. If you don’t have it on hand you can sub in granulated or sanding sugar, or dust with powdered sugar after baking.
Guava Paste: The paste can be found in the Latin section of most supermarkets. It’s quite firm to the touch but melts when baked.
How to Make Pastelitos de Guayaba
1. Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the guava paste into 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick pieces.
Beat the room temperature cream cheese and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using an electric hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract then mix until incorporated and creamy. Scrape the bowl down and mix just a bit with a spatula. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside.
2. Unfold your puff pastry sheet and roll out on a lightly floured surface. It will end up about 1/8 thick after a few rolls. Cut into 9 roughly equal pieces then transfer the first six to your lined baking sheet. Repeat the process for the second puff pastry sheet.
3. Snip the tip off your piping bag and pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the center of each piece leaving a 1/2 inch border at the edge.
4. Place the guava paste slices on top of the cream cheese and then brush the edge with an egg wash. The egg will act as a glue for the top and bottom halves of your pastry.
5. Place another piece of the puff pastry on top then press the edges together. You can use a sharp knife to trim the edges for a cleaner look.
6. Brush the tops with more egg wash then sprinkle with sugar. You can use a knife to score the top. This will decrease the puff a bit and give you an easier to eat pastry. Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes or until puffed and golden.
Pro Tips for this Recipe
- Don’t be stingy with that filling, it’s the best part! If some leaks out it’s really not a problem.
- Everyone’s oven is a bit different so keep an eye on the pastries toward the end of the bake. They go from perfect to burnt fairly quickly.
- To score or not to score? Cutting the top will restrict the puffiness of your pastry. I like that because it makes them easier to eat but if you want that very tall look, skip the scoring.
- You can TOTALLY make these with pastry from scratch. Use my favorite butter crust recipe and you’ll have a delicious but n0t as flakey pastelito.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are they made of?
Pastelitos are made with a puff pastry style wrapper and can have either savory or sweet fillings. Some are fried while others are baked. Guava and cheese, coconut and dulce de leche are all popular sweet fillings.
What is the difference between these and empanadas?
Pastelitos are very similar to empanadas but they’re made with a lighter, less dense, pastry.
How long do they last?
These are best eaten the same day but can be stored in an airtight container and warmed in the oven the next day. You can freeze the unbaked but assembled pastries for up to two weeks. Give them an egg wash and sprinkle of sugar and pop them into the oven to bake.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this pastelitos recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Pastelitos de Guayaba
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 ounces guava paste
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour to dust counter
- 1 package frozen puff pastry thawed, two sheets
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup turbinado or sanding sugar optional
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and cut 1/4 inch thick slices of the guava paste. Add the egg to a small bowl, beat, then set aside.
- Add the cream cheese, and salt to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer.
- Cream the cheese for a minute then add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined then scrape the bowl down and transfer to a piping bag, or a plastic bag, with the tip snipped off.
- On a lightly floured surface roll the thawed puff pastry out to about 1/8 an inch. Cut into roughly equal squares or rectangles. Repeat the process for the second pastry sheet.
- Transfer six of the squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet then pipe a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture onto each square leaving about 1/2 an inch of space from the edge. Place the guava paste slices on top of the cream cheese mixture cutting as needed to maintain the clear edge.
- Brush the edges with the egg wash then top with another square of puff pastry. Press the edge together then use a sharp knife to cut the edges and clean them up. This is optional but it helps seal the pastelitos and gives them a nice presentation.
- Brush the top with the egg wash then sprinkle with turbinado sugar. You can score the top if desired.
- Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffed up.
Notes
- Don't be stingy with that filling, it's the best part! If some leaks out it's really not a problem.
- Everyone's oven is a bit different so keep an eye on the pastries toward the end of the bake. They go from perfect to burnt fairly quickly.
- To score or not to score? Cutting the top will restrict the puffiness of your pastry. I like that because it makes it easer to eat but if you want that very tall look skip the scoring.
- You can TOTALLY make these with pastry from scratch. Use my favorite butter crust recipe and you'll have a delicious but n0t as flakey pastelito.
