This Christmas treat made with puff pastry is stuffed with delectable Bing cherries, coconut, and pistachios. Flaky and sweet, it’s ideal for any festive holiday celebration.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 20 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned, pitted Bing cherries in syrup
- 1 (17.3 ounce) package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
- ¼ cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
- ½ cup lightly salted pistachio nuts, coarsely ground
- 1 large egg, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Drain cherries and reserve juice for another use. Finely chop cherries and place in a bowl with coconut; mix well. Let sit until coconut absorbs excess liquid from the cherries, about 5 minutes.
- Place 1 puff pastry sheet on a clean counter and lightly score a large triangle shape into it, like a Christmas tree; don’t cut all the way through. Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet.
- Set aside 2 tablespoons of the coconut-cherry mixture. Spread the rest inside the scored triangle on the first sheet of pastry. Sprinkle with ground pistachios and place the second pastry sheet on top, lining up the triangles. Transfer to one of the prepared baking sheets.
- Cut out the shape of the tree along the triangular score line, and remove the outer pastry scraps. Make horizontal cuts on the tree from the outer edges in toward the middle, leaving about 1 inch intact in the center to resemble a trunk. Gently lift each horizontal strip, making sure to lift both sheets of pastry, and twist it a couple of times to expose the filling.
- Use the puff pastry scraps to cut out a star shape for the top of the tree and a tree trunk for the bottom. Make sure to use both layers of pastry. Fill the trunk and star with the reserved cherry mix.
- Place the star, trunk, and any extra pastry scraps onto the remaining baking sheet. Brush all pastry pieces with beaten egg.
- Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and browned all over, 25 to 30 minutes. Gently lift parchment paper onto wire racks and allow to cool completely before serving, about 20 minutes.
- The Bing cherry juice can be used for cocktails or added to sparkling water for the kids.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 284 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 16 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 131 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 20 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This was a good recipe for Christmas breakfast. I had frozen bing cherries that I picked in the summer, so I thawed them and used them in place of the canned cherries. The puff pastry that I bought only came with 1 sheet, so I cut a triangle out of the middle and used the 2 triangles that I cut off the edges to make the second triangle. I also didn’t need to use all of the egg wash. It turned out beautifully, even without the star and stump. The taste was good, but could have used something more. It was a bit bland for our tastes and felt a bit on the dry side. We all decided a simple powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk glaze would have been excellent on it. I’ll probably try that with the leftovers tomorrow morning.