This baked Caramel Cream Cheese Puff Pastry is rich, creamy, and an easy appetizer or dessert to make for your next holiday party. Similar to baked brie, but even gooier, this dessert is perfect for serving warm with apples, figs, berries, crackers, and sliced bread.
If you’re looking for more puff pastry recipes, you can also these Puff Pastry Cinnamon Twists, Puff Pastry Cheese Twists, or these Brie Bites.
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Caramel Cream Cheese Puff Pastry
Sometimes it’s the easiest recipes that are the most luxurious. This one only takes a few minutes to prepare, but once baked, this caramel cream cheese puff pastry is literally oozing with deliciousness. The filling is sweetened with just a little brown sugar to give it some extra depth, and tastes great with the crispy puff pastry.
Serve with a selection of sliced fruit, crackers, crostini, pretzels, and nuts and you’ve got yourself a party! Feel free to get creative and add a little something extra to the cream cheese filling. One of my favorites so far is adding diced apples to create a caramel apple puff pastry situation.
Key Ingredients
- Puff Pastry - you will need 1 sheet of thawed puff pastry for this recipe. The easiest way to thaw it is to set it on a countertop at room temperature for about 30-40 minutes.
- Cream Cheese - the cream cheese needs to be soft to be able to cream with the sugar and caramel sauce. You can let it sit out at room temperature while you are thawing the puff pastry dough, or you can warm it for about 10 seconds at a time in the microwave just until soft.
- Brown Sugar - light brown sugar sweetens the cream cheese with a little extra flavor that tastes great with caramel sauce
- Caramel Sauce - the caramel sauce you use for this should be thin enough that you can mix it with soft cream cheese, but thick enough that it easily coats the back of a spoon. You don’t want it to be runny! Either use store bought caramel sauce, or make your own homemade caramel sauce!
- Egg Wash - to keep the outside nice and shiny after it is baked, brush on a simple egg wash made from whole eggs and a little water.
How to Make Cream Cheese Puff Pastry
- Mix the caramel cream cheese filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of the caramel sauce. Cream together until well-mixed.
- Fill the puff pastry. Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheet onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture in the center. Add the remaining ¼ cup caramel sauce over the top.
- Fold the puff pastry up. Gently fold each of the four corners of the puff pastry into the center, containing all the ingredients. Brush with a little water when needed to make the puff pastry stay in place, then gently fold each of the four corners in again until you've secured the pastry around the filling.
- Bake. Brush egg wash over the outside, then bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20-24 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown and shiny.
- Serve warm. Once baked, remove from the oven and place the baked puff pastry on a serving dish or large plate. Serve warm with apples, assorted fruit, crackers, baguettes, crostini, or nuts. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Be sure to serve this baked caramel cream cheese puff pastry warm, but not straight out of the oven. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving with apple slices, figs, crackers, baguette slices, crostini, and nuts.
Yes! You can actually assemble this, wrap it well with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge overnight to bake the following day.
While puff pastry is a delicious and incredibly simple way to make this dessert, you could also substitute either pie dough or even phyllo dough. They can be built the same way, but each dough needs to be handled slightly differently.
Recipe Tips
- Let the baked dessert puff pastry cool for about 5 minutes before serving it. If it’s straight out of the oven, the creamy filling will be too runny. After even just a few minutes, it will be the perfect serving temperature.
- Fold the corners up twice. If you skimp and try to just fold them up once, the cream cheese and caramel filling will ooze out the sides while it bakes.
- Get creative! Try adding things like diced apples, caramelized figs, or fruit jams to the filling. I recommend adding them to the top of the cream cheese mixture just before topping with the caramel sauce.
- Turn these into bite size appetizers. Instead of one large dessert, you can turn this recipe into easy puff pastry appetizers. Just cut the puff pastry dough into approximately 3” squares, set into muffin tins, then fill with your ingredients. You can gently fold the corners in just before baking.
Storing and Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator: store completely cooled cream cheese puff pastry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: preheat your oven to 300 degrees F, then transfer the puff pastry dessert to a baking dish and cover with foil. Warm just long enough to melt the cheese, then enjoy!
Caramel Cream Cheese Puff Pastry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 sheet Puff Pastry
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Caramel Sauce save half to add before folding the puff pastry
- 1 large Egg for egg wash
- 2 Tablespoons Water
For Serving
- Assorted apples, fruit, crackers, and pretzels
Instructions
- Defrost a puff pastry sheet by removing it from its packaging and laying on the countertop for about 40 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of the caramel sauce. Cream together until well-mixed.
- Unfold the puff pastry on the baking sheet and place spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture in the center of the puff pastry. Add the remaining ¼ cup caramel sauce over the top.
- Gently fold each of the four corners of the puff pastry into the center, containing all the ingredients. Brush with a little water when needed to make the puff pastry stay in place, then gently fold each of the four corners in again until you've secured the pastry around the filling.
- Beat the egg and water in a small bowl, then use a pastry brush to brush the outside of the pastry with the egg wash.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-24 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown and shiny.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and place the baked puff pastry on a serving dish or large plate. Serve warm with apples, assorted fruit, crackers, baguettes, crostini, or nuts. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Holiday Appetizer Recipes
- Cranberry Baked Brie Bites
- Mini Charcuterie Cups
- Pesto Pinwheels
- Pizza Pinwheels
- Cheese Fondue
- Crescent Roll Veggie Pizza
- Ranch Chex Mix
- More Appetizer Recipes
- More Cheese Appetizers
This ooey gooey baked caramel cream cheese puff pastry is an easy appetizer that looks and tastes luxurious. Serve warm with a selection of fresh fruit, dried fruit, crackers, nuts, and sliced bread.
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