Dulce Vida: Papelón and Puff Pastry

Making a recipe from scratch is more than worthwhile, but sometimes, in the interest of time, we just need to opt for a store-bought shortcut. Take puff pastry for instance, with its layers upon layers of sweet butter sandwiched between thin sheets of dough that are rolled and turned to create a flaky texture we love. Sounds easy, right? Well, not exactly. Technical details usually confound home cooks, and mistakes like using too much butter, too much flour, sugar or salt, errors in rising, and lack of uniformity in layers throughout the dough result in baking headaches. For these reasons, puff pastry is a often considered a recipe best overlooked for a store-bought version, especially since high-quality puff pastry is available in most grocery stores.

Puff pastry can be used in a multitude of ways, in sweet to savory recipes that become decadent tartlets and pies, puffs and pillows. The following trio of recipes have two main stars: puff pastry and papelón, also known as panela. Panela, or evaporated cane juice, is also a multipurpose ingredient, but the combination of this mildly sweet papelón with puff pastry is one that can’t be beat.

Palmeritas con Papelón, or petite palmiers, pack a punch in flavor with zest when baked to bubbly, caramelized perfection. The grated papelón, cinnamon and lemon mixture that makes that recipe sing also makes a second appearance as a glaze in our Frambuesa Panela Tartlet. A touch of lemon juice and drizzle of agave takes this raspberry topped puff to another level. And, let’s not forget Almohadas de Mango con Papelón, pillows of dough stuffed with fresh mango compote, grated papelón, lemon zest and a touch of tequila.

Papelón and puff pastry is a match made in kitchen heaven. Stock up on this versatile dough, break out that block of papelón and treat yourself to a quick, delicious and irresistible dessert. Oven required.

Mango Pastry Puffs

• 1 17.3 oz package puff pastry (thawed)
• 1/4 cup grated papelón
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon tequila
• 2 ripe mangos (flesh diced)

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Raspberry Panela Tart

• 1 17.3 oz package puff pastry (thawed)
• 1/4 cup grated panela
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 pints raspberries

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Palmeritas con Papelón

• 1 17.3 oz package puff pastry (thawed)
• 3/4 cup grated panela
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

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