What is it?

Puff pastry is a rich, multilayered dough. This traditional French pastry is known as a “laminated” dough because it alternates layers of fat (usually butter) with dough. It’s used to make a variety of classic French pastries like croissants, napoleons, and palmiers.

Puff pastry is made by placing a block of chilled fat between layers of pastry dough, then rolling it out, folding it in thirds and letting it rest. This process, usually repeated 6 to 8 times, produces hundreds of layers of dough and butter. When baked, the butter melts creating gaps between the dough layers, the water in the dough and in the butter turn to steam, filling the the gaps and forcing the dough to puff and separate into hundreds of flaky layers. Because the process is labor-intensive (and because frozen puff pastry is delicious and simple), most home cooks don’t make their own. But if you do, the results are well worth the effort.

Puff pastry is not to be mistaken for phyllo dough, which is also commonly sold frozen. Both are flaky and crisp, but puff pastry is incredibly buttery, soft, and of course, puffy, where phyllo dough is not. The two are generally not interchangeable.

Recipes

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  Turkey and Spinach Hand Pies

  These turnover-like pastries make a nice lunch paired with a green salad. Or enjoy them for a casual weeknight dinner.

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  Lingonberry Cream Cheese Pastries

  These individual tarts are simple to make using purchased puff pastry. You can prepare them up to the point of baking, freeze them, and then bake one whenever you want…

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  Oyster Patties

  “Patties” is something of a misnomer for this old-fashioned New Orleans dish, which is made by filling puff pastry shells with oysters and an herb-flecked bacon-cream sauce. The classic recipe…

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  Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard Stew Topped with Puff Pastry

  Similar to potpie, this colorful, aromatic, and healthful stew is incredibly satisfying (with your eyes closed, you’d be hard-pressed to pinpoint the absence of meat). Plan ahead; the puff pastry…

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  Beet Wellington with Pinot Noir Sauce

  Here’s a vegetarian twist on a classic, upscale Continental dish, which normally includes pricey filet mignon, pâté, and truffles. This version is inexpensive, easy (if somewhat time-consuming) to prepare, and…

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  Shiitake and Roasted Red Pepper Puff Pastry Tart

  Almonds and tarragon may seem like unusual additions to a mushroom and pepper tart, but the combination is simply amazing. Serve a slice with a green salad to make it…

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  Moveable Feast

  Rhubarb Rose Millefoglie

  Millefoglie is the Italian version of the French pastry mille-feuille, meaning "thousand leaves," and is layered with whipped cream and fruit in a style similar to a napoleon. Here, fragrant…

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  Baked Brie with Pears and Apricots

  Forget the baked Brie of yore. This one is like an overstuffed purse full of glistening nuts and preserves. Make it ahead of time for a holiday party, or serve…

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  Honeyed Fig and Goat Cheese Tart

  This is a simple but stunning way to enjoy fresh figs. When figs aren’t available, you can make this tart with other fresh fruit, such as apricots, pears, or strawberries.

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  Recipe

  Slow-Cooker Steak and Guinness Pie

  This simple version of the classic Irish dish has the distinctive bitter flavor of Guinness stout. Although it’s slow-cooked, the hearty beef stew requires minimal prep time. When it’s ready,…