Puerto Rican Guava Cheese Appetizer Food

PUERTO RICAN GUAVA CHEESE APPETIZER

Steps:

• Skewer one cube of the guava paste and one cube of cheddar cheese on a toothpick.
• Repeat with the remaining guava paste and cheddar cheese cubes.
• Refrigerate until serving time.

SORULLO

Steps:

• Take a handful of dough (small to medium size scoop) and shape into ball. Pat dough down.
• into a flat ball on work surface.
• Add a couple strips of chicken, and a small to medium size dab of cream cheese; sprinkle with shredded cheese (or you can just use chicken and cheese). Seal; to do this, bring sides up; if necessary add more dough and pat until filling is completely covered (make sure there is no filling poking out). Continue doing this with each pastry until all of filling and dough is used.
• Fill saucepan or shallow saucepan with 3 inches of oil (vegetable or peanut); heat until boiling. Add sorullos (do not crowd; depending on size, use three to four per batch.) Fry until dough is crispy and golden brown. Transfer to plate that is lined with paper towels to drain excess grease.
• VARIATION:You could use cooked ground beef in place of the chicken strips. You could also.
• add VERY finely chopped bell pepper to the filling. If using beef, use 1 t each ground.
• paprika and chili powder (adjust seasonings to taste).

PASTELILLOS DE GUAYABA (GUAVA CHEESE PASTRIES)

Steps:

• Set out puff pastry to thaw for 40 minutes at room temperature.
• Once pastry is thawed, line a 12-by-17-inch baking sheet with 2 pieces of parchment paper. (The double layer helps to protect your pan when you're cutting the puff pastry.) Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Prepare your egg wash by whisking egg and milk together. Keep it handy.
• Lay one layer of puff pastry on top of parchment paper on the baking sheet. Make a 4-by-4 grid of guava stacked with cheese, spaced evenly, leaving about 1 inch of space in between. Top with the second puff pastry sheet.
• Using a pizza cutter, slice the puff pastry into 16 equal pieces, touching the top lightly to determine where to slice. It's OK if you don't do a perfect job; these are especially good when the guava spills out and caramelizes along the edges. (And don't worry too much about getting the cut exact, or pieces being odd sizes. It gives them character.)
• Working quickly, use a fork to crimp all four edges twice on each side, then arrange them evenly on the baking sheet, leaving space between each. Brush the tops and edges lightly with the prepared egg wash and place baking sheet in the center of the oven.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until pastelillos are beautifully golden brown, flaky and puffy.
• Out of the oven, let pastelillos rest for at least 10 minutes before eating. (Guava is molten hot and will burn your mouth, badly.)
• Once they've cooled, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar to taste. They can be eaten warm or at room temperature, and will keep for several days in an airtight container. Heat leftovers in the oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees to bring back their crispness.

GUAVA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a 13x9-inch pan, and line with foil or parchment paper.
• Lightly grease paper/foil (I use cooking spray) Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats.
• Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly.
• Press half of the crust mixture into the prepared pan.
• Slice the guava paste into enough pieces to cover the crust within 1/4 inch of the edge, and place in pan.
• Sprinkle remaining crust mixture over guava paste layer, and lightly press down with the back of a fork or spatula.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes in preheated oven, or until crust is lightly browned.
• Allow to cool in pan on wire rack before cutting into 16-24 bars (depending on the size bars you cut).