Wewalka Puff Pastry...Featuring Peanut Butter S'mores Puff Pastry Rounds

One of my culinary secret weapons is ready-to-use puff pastry. I always have a package in my freezer ready to create tasty appetizers and other pastry items. One of my favorite brands is Wewalka refrigerated puff pastry -- the first refrigerated puff pastry product available in the U.S.! Wewalka puff pastry is created by layering delicate dough 64 times before rolling onto parchment paper. Simply use the dough directly from fridge as is. No thawing or rolling out is necessary, and you can bake the puff pastry directly on the parchment on top of a baking sheet! Simply cut the dough to your desired size/shape and create airy, flaky pastries. 

Baking isn't really my strong suite, but Wewalka's easy-t0-use puff pastry dough makes my pastries look like they were created by an experienced baker! I used a package of their flaky puff pastry dough to create a fun afternoon snack or weekend brunch pastry that kids of all ages will love! My Peanut Butter S'mores Puff Pastry Rounds are reminiscent of a doughnut...they're stuffed with chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and flavored peanut butter. After cooling, they're topped with a chocolate-peanut butter icing and sprinkled with graham crackers crumbs. You'll never believe how simple they are to whip up!!

Peanut Butter S'mores Puff Pastry Rounds

a Weekend Gourmet Original

Ingredients (makes six pastries):

• 13.2-ounce package Wewalka refrigerated puff pastry
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup finely crushed graham crackers (approx. 12 sheets of graham crackers
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar + 1 tsp. cinnamon

For the peanut butter filling:

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tbs. honey
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

For the peanut butter-chocolate topping:

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tbs. butter
• 2 ounces chopped milk chocolate

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 425. Make the peanut butter filling by adding the peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon to a small bowl. Stir well until all of the ingredients form a smooth filling.

Step 2: Cut the puff pastry into 12 rounds using a cookie cutter -- mine was 2.5". Spoon approx. 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter mixture in the center of SIX puff pastry rounds. Arrange 5-6 chocolate chips and 4-5 mini marshmallows on top of and around the peanut butter filling. Top with the six remaining puff pastry rounds. Crimp rounds with the tines of a fork, making a firm seal. Use a sharp knife to cut a small slit in top center of each round. Sprinkle the puff pastry rounds evenly with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Step 3: Bake the puff pastry rounds until golden brown and puffed -- approximately 15 minutes. Be sure to rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking to ensure even baking/browning. While the pastries bake, make the topping by adding the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals -- stirring each time -- until the chocolate is melted and the topping is smooth and slightly thick.

Step 4: Remove the baked pastry rounds from the oven and cool for 5-1o minutes. Spoon some of the topping on each of the pastries. Immediately sprinkle with the crushed graham crackers. Let the topped pastries cool for at least 30 minutes before eating to make sure no one's mouth gets burned by hot filling. Don't forget to serve a glass of ice-cold milk on the side! As the picture shows, each pastry has a generous amount of filling inside.

These fun pastries are packed with two of my favorite flavors: peanut butter and s'mores. The ingredients complement each other very well -- without one overpowering the other. The Wewalka puff pastry baked up perfectly -- puffed and flaky, with a slight crunch.

Best of all? Other than the Wewalka puff pastry, you likely have all of the other ingredients in your kitchen pantry -- making it a snap to surprise your family or friends with a batch of these pastries. To find Wewalka puff pastry near you, be sure to check out their handy online Store Locator tool. Wewalka has an entire line of fabulous refrigerated, ready-to-use Europoean pastry dough products -- including flatbread and pizza doughs, Danish pastry, and pie crust. I've also tried their flatbread and pizza doughs for at-home pizza nights, and was very pleased with the results. 

Disclosure: Wewalka provided me a sampler of their doughs to facilitate recipe development for this post. All opinions are solely my own.