Going to that last-minute New Year’s Eve party and don’t know what to bring? Want to bring something special but don’t have much time? Puff Pastry is easy to use, gives you lots of options, and doesn’t take much time or effort. Here are some puff pastry procedures to follow and a few easy peasy options.

While you can make your own from scratch, it’s easiest to find it in your frozen food section, usually near the pie crusts. Each box has 2 sheets. To thaw, open the package, remove the plastic wrap and let them sit for about 40 minutes so they become flexible.

From here, you can use them in many ways. You can roll out the sheet into a thinner square and cut them in a variety of ways, create rolls, packets, etc. (Ideas below). Once formed, pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes so they firm up. Then cut further if needed (like for rolls), then glaze them with an egg wash if appropriate (like for pockets), then bake at 400 degrees on parchment or a silicon mat for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size and thickness, until golden brown. Make sure your oven is fully preheated, because it’s the high heat that helps the puff pastry to “puff”.

Your pre-baked and formed puff pastry creations can be frozen months in advance, so remember that if you have a large party to plan for in the future as that can be a tremendous time saver. And you don’t need to thaw them first. They can go straight from freezer to oven.

Palmiers

These little cookies are crunchy, not overly sweet, and easy to make. For the cinnamon sugar ones, put a few tablespoons of cinnamon sugar on the country and roll out one puff pastry sheet to 12-inch square, adding more cinnamon sugar to the top at the end. Roll that sugar into the dough. Then roll up opposite sides tightly until they meet in the middle.

Wrap roll in plastic wrap and pop in the freezer for 30 minutes. Cut into 1/4 inch slices, dip each side in more cinnamon sugar, and place about 2 inches apart on lined cookie sheet. Bake for a total of 15 to 20 minutes. Halfway through, turn the cookies over so both sides caramelize well.

For the Nutella version, repeat the process but only have cinnamon sugar on the counter and spread a thin layer of Nutella on the top. Don’t turn these over during baking and you may need to pull them from the oven a little sooner, as the Nutella cooks quickly on the bottom.

Ham & Cheese Pockets and Asparagus Wraps

For the pockets, roll out a sheet into a 12-inch square. Cut out little matching rectangles. Smear a little dijon mustard in the center, keeping edges clear. Top with a few slices of ham and cheese (I did swiss). Dab some egg wash on the edges (one egg and one tablespoon of water beaten together). Place a rectangle of pastry on top and seal with a fork.

Freeze pockets for 30 minutes. Glaze tops only with egg wash. Make a few small slits on top to let out steam and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

For asparagus wraps, place tops of 3 asparagus spears (dab with olive oil and salt/pepper) on a rectangle of rolled pastry, corner to corner. Wrap them up side to side and press to seal, glaze with egg wash and bake as above.

APPLE POCKETS can be done as the ham and cheese. Fill with apple pie filling or cooked apples. Sprinkle with sugar on top of egg wash before baking.

Pesto Pinwheels

I took half a sheet and rolled it out into a rectangle. Spread with your favorite pesto, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and roll up on the long side. Freeze roll for 30 minutes, cut into 1/4 inch slices and bake. No egg wash here. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until brown.

Pastry Shells

Puff pastry shells come in a box in your freezer section. There are 6 in a box and they look like funny hockey pucks. Glaze just the tops and bake as directed on the box. When done, you remove the middle section so you have a light, baked shell that you can fill with all sorts of things, savory or sweet.

I did pastry cream with fresh raspberries, but you could put chicken salad, seafood salad, chocolate custard and whipped cream, fresh fruit, etc. The possibilities are endless.