Strawberry and Cream Cheese Pastries

One of my absolute favorite breakfast foods are Toaster Strudels - you know exactly what I'm talking about,  right?  The pastries in the frozen section that come with the little icing packets?  I'm such a kid at heart sometimes.  I LOVE the strawberry and cream cheese kind - and that's where I got the inspiration for this recipe.  Oh, also it was one of those rare occasion days where I actually got to watch what I wanted to on TV (and not My Little Ponies or a Disney Princess movie) and Claire Robinson of 5 Ingredient Fix was making these with blueberry jam!!  They looked so yummy, I had to give them a try.    

So not only are they yummy, but they are incredibly easy.  It's Puff Pastry dough, thawed, cut into 4 strips, topped with cream cheese and jam!  And while I was making these, my mind immediately went to chocolate croissants (because you know how they are always rectangle?) and I decided that I needed a chocolate drizzle, not vanilla icing. 

You'll layer the cream cheese with the strawberry jam on the top portion of the strips of dough, then fold the bottom part over that.  Crimp the sides with a fork and you have one adorable little breakfast!  Or dessert...

Bake for 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown.  They will be very puffy, but will fall a bit as they cool down.  Once they are completely cool, melt chocolate chips in the mircrowave until they are completely melted and drizzle away!  Or make cute shapes and smiley faces...I didn't think about that until after the fact...

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Pastries

1/2 cup strawberry jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a small saucepan, bring the jam and cornstarch mixture to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes.  Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Lay 1 sheet of pastry on a board dusted with flour and cut into 4 equal strips.  Spread about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese in the middle of the upper part of the dough (leaving a little bit of an edge).  Top the cream cheese with about 2 tablespoons of the jam mixture.  Using your finger, dab the edges with a bit of water and fold the bottom part over the top part.  Crimp with a fork.  Arrange the pastries on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden.  Let cool completely.

Make the chocolate drizzle:  in a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips by heating for 30 seconds at a time, stirring and repeating another 30 seconds until the chocolate is melted and shiny.  I put my chocolate into a plastic squeeze bottle but you can dip a fork in the chocolate and just drizzle that way too!

(Source:  Adapted from Food Network's Claire Robinson)