These Nutella filled turkey puff pastries are an easy kid and crowd pleaser that anyone can make. I have zero decorating skills and I’m pretty proud of how cute these turned out! A perfect treat for Thanksgiving.
These turkey pastries are by far the cutest thing I’ve ever made and I’m so proud of myself for attempting them. While they may look intimidating, believe me, they’re not. All you need is a turkey shaped cookie cutter, some frozen puff pastry, Nutella, an egg and some mini chocolate chips!
Cutting these will be similar to cutting cookies or gingerbread men if you’ve ever attempted that. You could also make these into any shape and if you don’t have cookie cutters but feel brave, you could attempt to cut the dough with a knife. I can’t say I would try this as I’m just not artistically inclined unfortunately.
Working with Puff Pastry
The easiest way to make these is to work with a slightly chilled pastry dough. If your pastry is warm, it’s harder to cut with the cookie cutters and it may not bake as nicely as butter can leak out.
If you’re using frozen puff pastry, take it out of the freezer about 2 hours prior to rolling it. It should still feel cold to the touch but not frozen. Roll it into a 12in x 12in square using a rolling pin or wine bottle if you don’t have one! Then proceed to cut your shapes as close to each other as you can.
You can take the scraps and reroll it as well. Just don’t work the dough too much or you can start to develop the gluten creating a tough pastry. I rerolled mine twice and had no issues.
Filling the Turkey Pastries
I filled these with Nutella and it was absolutely delicious but you can fill them with whatever you like. Just ensure you leave about a 2cm border around the turkey so you have dough to pinch together and your filling doesn’t leak out.
With these turkey shapes, I mainly filled their bellies and then with the back of my spoon, spread a little up into the head region. I recommend putting about 1 Tbsp of filling in each one so it doesn’t explode or leak while baking.
Another important step is to paint an egg wash on the border you’ve left. This makes the pastry much easier to pinch together and helps ensure it stays closed while baking. If you don’t have any kind of pastry brush or BBQ sauce type brush, I’ve used my kids paint brushes from the dollar store before. Just make sure to wash them first!
Decoration
For these turkey pastries I chose to keep the design pretty simple for a couple reasons. Mainly, I’m not great at decorating but also because I love how they turned out with just the simple chocolate chip eye. Feel free to do more than this like adding a wing or something. I’ve debated scoring a wing into the top layer but I liked the simplicity of just the eye so I’ve never actually tried.
Leftover Pastry
If you don’t want to waste any pastry, roll out the scraps like before into a square or rectangle. Cut it in half with a pizza cutter, knife, etc. Fill with Nutella the same way you would the turkeys, with a border, and then egg wash the perimeter. Layer the other half on top and egg wash it. Then bake it. Voila, an extra delicious pastry and no waste.
Baking Tips
- Don’t overwork the dough or it can become tough. Just gently roll it out.
- If your dough is sticking to everything, sprinkle some flour on your rolling pin and work surface.
- Don’t overfill the pastries. The filling will explode out ruining your shape or leak.
- I highly recommend using the egg wash to seal the pastries and on top so you get that beautiful golden colour.
- Working with cold dough is much easier and will result in a better bake. If you feel your dough is getting too warm, pop it back in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
- I create my recipes based off weights so I recommend measuring by weights if you own a scale. It’s actually so much easier and makes for much less cleanup. I wish I had baked by weight from the beginning, I could never go back now.
More Thanksgiving Recipes
Chocolate Turtle Cookies
Stabilized Whipped Cream
Gingersnap Pumpkin Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Bakery Style Apple Butter Muffins
Today’s song is a song that will forever remind me of my cousin. We used to listen to this song endlessly as it was the only song that would calm her dog down as a puppy in the car. I still love it though and never got sick of it! Here’s Jackie and Wilson by Hozier. Happy Baking!! **Disclaimer: Liv’s Little Muffins owns no rights to this song.
Don’t forget to leave a STAR REVIEW if you try my recipe! Follow me on Facebook or tag me on instagram @livslittlemuffins. Find more ideas on my Pinterest or Whisk.
Nutella Filled Turkey Puff Pastries
Ingredients
- 1 pckg frozen puff pastry, thawed (2 sheets)
- 250 g Nutella
- 15 mini chocolate chips
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉ and line a baking pan. In a small bowl, combine the egg and milk, whisk together well. Set aside.
- Sprinkle a little flour over your counter and on your rolling pin. Roll the first sheet of pastry into a 12in x 12in square. (*See notes) With a turkey cookie cutter, cut as many shapes as you can. You can take the scraps and reroll a couple of times to get a couple more shapes. Just ensure you don't overwork the pastry or it will get tough.
- Lay the cut on turkeys on the pan and dollop about 1 tbsp of Nutella into the belly area. Spread it around leaving a 1 inch or 2cm border to prevent leakage. Do this to each turkey. Remember, you need 2 turkeys per pastry so try to get an even number.
- Once you've filled them all, using a pastry brush or paint brush, paint a little egg wash around the border you've left. Then take another turkey cutout and lay it on top, ensuring you line them up. Using your fingers, pinch the edges together all around. Make sure they're aren't any gaps or the filling can leak.
- Do this to each one and then paint a little more egg wash over the top of each pastry. Place the mini chocolate chip upside down where the eye would be if you're using them. Bake in the oven for about 12-14 minutes or until golden in colour. Continue this until you've used up all your pastry, including the second sheet of pastry. You may end up with a few scraps leftover at the end. (**See notes)
- Eat warm or let fully cool and store in an airtight container for up to 2 days and enjoy!
