Pastelillos (also known as pastelitos) de guayaba are Puerto Rican pastries made with guava paste, cream cheese, and puff pastry. They are super easy to make and only take about 30 minutes!
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If you enjoy classic Puerto Rican recipes like Quesitos and Empanadillas, you will love Pastelillos de Guayaba.
They are the perfect combination of flaky puff pastry dough, fruity guava paste, melted cream cheese, and that signature powdered sugar topping.
Ingredients
Here's what you need to make the pastelillos de guayaba:
- cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- puff pastry, thawed for 15 minutes
- block guava paste
- egg, for the egg wash
- granulated sugar
- water
- confectioners sugar to garnish (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep your egg wash by beating your egg in a small bowl with a tablespoon of water plus the granulated sugar. Set aside.
Lay out both sheets of puff pastry, roll out lightly and poke gently with a fork all around. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut each sheet into 9 (3x3) equal sized rectangles.
Hint: Make sure to poke your puff pastry with a fork to help it achieve that perfectly light and fluffy texture.
Next cut the cream cheese block and guava paste block into 9 slices. Lay one slice of each in the center of half of the puff pastry rectangles.
Top the guava and cheese with the leftover puff pastry rectangles and brush with egg wash. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and cooked through. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and enjoy!
Variations
Here are some easy modifications you can make to give these pastelillos your signature touch:
- Skip the Cheese - keep this recipe simple and skip the cream cheese for a more fruit forward pastry.
- Skip the Powdered Sugar - enjoy the natural sugars from the guava and skip the dusting of powdered sugar.
- Skip Granulated Sugar - skip the sprinkle a bit of granulated sugar on top of the egg wash before baking for a less sweet dessert.
Equipment
There are a few basic tools you will need to make this recipe:
- a pastry cutter or pizza cutter to cut the puff pastry
- a brush for the egg wash
- sheet pans for baking
Storage
Like most pastries, these pastelillos de guayaba are best enjoyed fresh.
They should keep when kept at room temperature in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
They can also be frozen for up to 1 month. Pop them in the freezer just after baking and can be thawed and microwaved or toasted to reheat.
Buen provecho,
Pastelillos de Guayaba (Guava Pastries)
Pastelillos (also known as pastelitos) de guayaba are Puerto Rican pastries made with guava paste, cream cheese, and puff pastry. They are super easy to make and only take about 30 minutes!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 25
- Yield: 9 pastries 1x
- Category: dessert, breakfast, snack
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican, Caribbean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 8oz (1 block) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed for 15 minutes
- 1 egg, for the egg wash
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 block guava paste
- 2 tbsp confectioners sugar to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep your egg wash by beating your egg in a small bowl with a tablespoon of water plus the granulated sugar. Set aside.
- Prep the puff pastry. Lay out both sheets of puff pastry, roll out lightly and poke gently with a fork all around. Using a pastry or pizza cutter, cut each sheet into 9 (3x3) equal sized rectangles.
- Prep the filling & assemble. Cut the cream cheese block and guava paste block into 9 slices. Lay one slice of each in the center of half of the puff pastry rectangles.
- Egg wash & bake. Top the guava and cheese with the leftover puff pastry rectangles and brush with egg wash. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and cooked through. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and enjoy!
Keywords: pastelillos, pastelitos, pastelillos de guayaba
Comments
Leslie
Loved these, thank you for posting! .Brought me right back to vacationing in Puerto Rico and Miami. These were very easy to make and the combination of cream cheese and guava paste oozing out with the crispy edges of the puff pastry was oh so fab! Disappointed though with the PF brand due to the ingredients which causes terrible mouth feel and an off-putting odor after they've cooled..Wish they made an all natural product and used butter instead of oil.
★★★★★