A puff pastry Christmas tree is two sheets of puff pastry sandwiched around a thin filling, cut into a tall triangle, and sliced from the trunk outward into branches that are each twisted before baking. Assemble it on parchment, cut it while the pastry is cold, twist every branch two or three turns, brush it with egg, and bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes until deep golden. Guests tear off a branch each.
It looks far more complicated than it is. The whole thing is one set of straight cuts and a lot of small twists, and the only real secret is temperature.
Why the pastry has to stay cold
Puff pastry is a laminated dough: butter is layered into a flour-and-water dough, which is then rolled and folded again and again to build up many thin layers. In the oven, the water in the fat turns to steam and pushes those layers apart. That is the puff.
If the butter softens before baking, the layers meld together and lose their lift, and soft pastry also tears when you twist it. So every step below happens with the pastry cold, and the tree goes back into the refrigerator whenever it starts to feel limp.
Thaw frozen sheets in the refrigerator overnight, not on the counter.
What you need
- 2 sheets of frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator.
- A filling, about 1/3 cup in total. Savory: basil pesto and a handful of finely grated Parmesan. Sweet: chocolate-hazelnut spread, or softened butter mixed with cinnamon and sugar.
- 1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water.
- A large baking sheet lined with parchment, a sharp knife or pizza wheel, a ruler if you like straight lines, and a pastry brush.
- To finish: flaky salt and more Parmesan for the savory tree, powdered sugar for the sweet one.
The side work, on the board
Before the pastry comes out of the refrigerator, do the small prep that needs a knife.
For the savory version, grate the Parmesan on the fine side of a box grater, chop a few rosemary needles very fine for the top, and if you make your own pesto, chop the basil and garlic first. For the sweet version, chop a little toasted hazelnut or pistachio to scatter over the finished tree.
This is where a cutting board earns its place.
The tree itself is built on parchment on the baking sheet; a 12 × 9 board is sized for this prep and for cutting the offcuts later. The WONAMU. bamboo cutting board is 12 by 9 inches with a perimeter juice groove that keeps grated cheese and stray crumbs on the board instead of the counter. The case for small boards in a busy holiday kitchen is in the case for a small cutting board.
Assemble the layers
- Unfold the first sheet onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Smooth the fold lines with a rolling pin, one light pass.
- Spread the filling over the sheet in a thin, even layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border clear. Too much filling oozes out of the cuts and burns.
- Scatter the Parmesan over the pesto, if using.
- Lay the second sheet on top, lining up the edges, and press gently all over so the two sheets stick together.
- Chill for 10 to 15 minutes. Cold layers cut cleanly; warm ones drag and squeeze the filling out.
Cut the tree
Work directly on the baking sheet, so the tree never has to be lifted.
The triangle. Find the center of the top edge. Cut a straight line from that point down to each bottom corner, leaving a tall triangle. Pull away the two side pieces and keep them.
The trunk. At the base of the triangle, cut a small rectangle from the offcuts, about 1 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long, and press it under the center of the bottom edge.
The branches. Leave a strip about 1 inch wide running up the center of the tree, from the trunk to the tip, uncut. Then, on each side of that strip, cut straight lines from the outer edge in toward it, about 3/4 inch apart, stopping at the central strip. Keep the cuts horizontal and the spacing even on both sides, so the branches line up in pairs.
A pizza wheel or a long, sharp knife pressed straight down gives the cleanest edge. Pepperidge Farm’s puff pastry guide advises cutting straight down with a sharp blade and never dragging the knife.
Twist the branches
Starting at the bottom, pick up the end of each branch and twist it two or three full turns, then lay it back down flat. Twist all the branches on one side in the same direction, and the other side in the opposite direction, so the tree looks symmetrical. The branches near the tip are short; give them one turn.
If the pastry softens halfway up, slide the whole baking sheet into the refrigerator for 10 minutes and finish after.
The offcuts. Cut the two side pieces into thin strips on the board, twist them, and bake them on the same sheet as cheese twists. Cut a star from one piece for the top of the tree.
Bake
Chill the finished tree for 15 minutes while the oven heats to 400°F. Brush the pastry with the egg wash, keeping it off the cut edges: the same guide warns that wash running down the cut sides can stop the pastry from rising. Press the star onto the tip.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the whole tree is puffed and deep golden, including the branches near the center, which brown last. Pale pastry is underdone inside. The offcut twists finish in about 12 to 15 minutes; pull them early.
Unbaked puff pastry contains raw flour and the glaze is raw egg. The CDC warns that tasting raw dough or batter can cause food poisoning, because most flour is not treated to kill germs such as E. coli and raw eggs can contain Salmonella. Wash your hands with soap and water, and the board and counter with hot, soapy water, after handling them.
Serving and leftovers
Let the tree cool on the sheet for 5 minutes. Finish the savory tree with flaky salt, the chopped rosemary and more Parmesan; dust the sweet one with powdered sugar through a fine sieve. Slide it, still on its parchment, onto a platter or a large board, with a small bowl of warm marinara or extra pesto for dipping beside it.
It is best within an hour of baking. Follow the FDA’s guidance for perishable food: refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of baking, or within 1 hour if the temperature is above 90°F. Reheat branches in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes to crisp them again. For a full spread of party food, how to host a holiday open house plans the timing.
The short version
Thaw two sheets of puff pastry in the refrigerator. Spread one with a thin filling, cover with the second, chill, and cut a tall triangle on the baking sheet.
Leave a 1-inch strip up the middle, cut branches 3/4 inch apart on both sides, and twist each one two or three times. Chill, brush with egg, bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, and let guests tear off a branch.
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WONAMU. makes a bamboo cutting board designed for daily prep, 12 × 9 inches, bamboo, with a perimeter juice groove. Available on Amazon.
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