Five Ingredients (or Less) #SundaySupper -- Featuring Sopapillla Cheesecake Bites

This week, #SundaySupper is featuring recipes that contain no more than five ingredients. Our hostess for this fun challenge is Alice from Hip Foodie Mom. The idea behind this week's theme is pretty simple: a recipe doesn't have to have a mile-long ingredient list to be delicious. Sometimes simple really is best...as these decadent little Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites prove. Using five basic ingredients that I always have in my kitchen, I can whip up a batch of these flaky pastries in less than 30 minutes. They're tasty and so versatile -- they make a great weekend breakfast, a delicious snack with a cup of tea or coffee, or even a great dessert for your next Tex-Mex feast!

If you've never had a sopapilla, it's a Mexican dessert of fried dough that's tossed in cinnamon sugar and drizzled with honey. The only way I could think of to make the original better was to stuff it with a creamy filling! I have a secret to share: I always keep a package of puff pastry in my freezer. It's one of my go-to ingredients for making simple appetizers and desserts that only look complicated...and now, it's YOUR secret too! With this magical ingredient in my freezer, I'm always ready for last-minute guests...or sudden cravings. For these sweet puffs, squares of puff pastry are filled with sweetened cream cheese and baked. Just before serving, they're generously covered in cinnamon sugar.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites

a Weekend Gourmet Original

Ingredients:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
6 ounces whipped cream cheese
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbs. pure vanilla extract
1 tbs. cinnamon (preferably Vietnamese high-oil cinnamon)

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the sheet of frozen puff pastry on top. Make the cheesecake filling by combining the whipped cream cheese, vanilla, and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl until completely combined.

Step 2: Cut the puff pastry into nine squares (three across and three down). Separate the squares and place a tablespoon of the cheesecake filling in the center of each puff pastry square. Carefully fold the puff pastry into a triangle, completely enclosing the filling. Use a fork to seal the edges of the puff pastry -- make sure to seal them really well to prevent the filling from leaking out during baking. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of sugar and bake until golden -- approximately 12 minutes. Turn the pan halfway through baking or even coloring.

Step 3: While the pastries bake, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon in a shallow dish. If some of the filling leaks during baking, don't worry: they will still taste fantastic. While the pastries are still hot, quickly toss them in the cinnamon sugar on both sides. Place on a serving platter and sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar -- the more, the better! Let them cool for at least 5 minutes before eating as the filling is lava-hot right out of the oven. As you can see, the inside is flaky, with the creamy center.

These goodies are so decadent that you'll never believe they're so easy to make with simple kitchen staples! The outside is flaky and crispy, and the inside is creamy and rich. The generous coating of cinnamon sugar brings everything together perfectly. If you like, you can serve them with honey for drizzling...but I didn't this time since it would count as an extra ingredient. I hope you'll give these addictive little pastries a try soon -- they're perfect for Cinco de Mayo next week.

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Sides and Accompaniments