Avocado, Cream Cheese, Salsa Bites

This is another recipe I did for our recent mexican theme small group party.

I wish I was more like my daughter and could come on here describing the homemade chips I cranked out, after growing the corn and doing whatever else it is that those kinds of cooks do when they create amazing things in the kitchen. Literally - I am sometimes in awe of the stuff Emily makes, marveling at her creativity and skills in reading complex recipes and following through on them with fabulous results. 

If Emily were making these you can bet she wouldn't be using a store bought puff pastry! Or a can of salsa. Hey, she'd probably make her own home churned cream cheese. But, this is me so you get what you get. In this case, you get a fairly easy (though kind of messy) appetizer that went over well at our dinner guests.

Avocado, Cream Cheese, and Salsa Bites

1 large sheet puffed pastry, thawed (I used Trader Joe’s)

1 ripe avocado, halved and mashed (approximately 1 tablespoon of avocado per pastry square)

1/3 cup cream cheese (approximately 1 teaspoon of cream cheese per pastry square)

1/3 cup salsa (approximately 1 teaspoon of salsa per pastry square. I used a combination of Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde and Trader Joe’s Mango Red Pepper Chutney)

salt and pepper, sprinkled to taste

1 egg, beaten (OK - I confess. I forgot to do the egg wash. They browned nicely anyway.)

Preheat oven to 400F and prepare two baking sheets with either parchment paper, Silpat liners, or spray them well with cooking spray. (I used Silpat)

Thaw one large square of puffed pastry for about 10 minutes. Flour your countertop or working surface and roll out the pastry square as thinly as possible.  With a pizza cutter or knife, slice the puffed pastry into approximately 2-inch by 2-inch squares.  From the one thinly rolled large sheet of frozen puffed pastry, I created 18 squares.

On half the squares, place a dollop of avocado, then cream cheese, then the salsa mix, season with salt and pepper.  Use the remaining squares as the lids and place one lid over the filling mounds. Seal the pastry packages by pressing the edges with a fork, taking care to seal the edges well, pressing the fork in repeatedly, so no filling escapes during baking.

In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork, and apply an eggwash to each of the pastry packages. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until desired browning and puffing has occurred. Watch them closely after 10 minutes in case your oven is hotter or your brand of puffed pastry cooks faster.

Remove from the oven and serve.  Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and if desired, reheat leftovers in the microwave for approximately 45 seconds before serving.  Or, store extras in an airtight container on the countertop for a day or so, using common sense because of the cream cheese filling, and reheating in the microwave if desired.