A few weeks ago, I went to visit my sister in Pennsylvania for snowy hikes, quality time with siblings and puppies, and garlic knots. Just before we toured the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, we stopped at the local pizzeria, which was bustling with Friday lunchers. I asked for my slice, then tacked a garlic knot on to my order.
Especially when I’m ravenous, I like to trick myself into considering the knot an appetizer, even though it rarely comes out of the oven before my pizza. A nice little bit of delusion. Anyway, I didn’t regret the decadence, because the Pottsville knot was excellent. As I ate, two things occurred to me.
One, I should make garlic knots at home. And two, garlic knots are perfect Super Bowl food - but I’d never seen them at a Super Bowl party.
So when folks from Pepperidge Farm let me know about a project to showcase their puff pastry in simple but impressive finger food, I accepted their PuffectionTM Game Day Entertaining Challenge, chose garlic knots from the oodles of recipes on their site, and got to work chopping garlic, herbs, and Parmesan. I was going to make my own garlic knots at last - and with puff pastry, so they wouldn’t be all that hard to put together for football-game watching, aka stuffing my face.
Turned out they were super easy, a fun cooking project for a Sunday. You press the garlic, cheese, and herbs into a rectangle of puff pastry that’s been brushed with eggs, so the mixture sticks. You cut the rectangle into strips, which are surprisingly fun to tie into little knots. Within a few minutes of putting the knots in the oven, the apartment smells of roasted garlic.
Since it’s game-watching season, I can’t help but think that these tasty bites are perfect for your favorite sports fan. And no judgments if that sports fan is you. I’ll be back later this week with a second puff pastry game day dish.
You can find tons more puff pastry recipes, tips, and how-to videos at puffpastry.com, and you can share your holiday puff pastry recipes on Pepperidge Farm’s facebook page here.
I wrote this sponsored post in partnership with Pepperidge Farm in order to show the impressive array of finger food you can make if you keep their puff pastry in your freezer at all times. And how I love puff pastry as a brilliant shortcut for pizzettes, pigs in a blanket, and now garlic knots! I only ever share sponsored content when I really love it. (You can read my affiliate disclosure here if you’re interested.) Thanks, Pepperidge Farm!
P.S. Last year’s list of great Super Bowl snacks.
**Recipe**
Puff Pastry Garlic Knots
Recipe from Pepperidge Farm
Makes 20 two-bite knots
If your oven tends to run even a little bit hot, I’d recommend turning the dial down to 375°F. Either way, monitor these knots carefully as they bake - there’s nothing worse than burnt garlic. It’d be fun to serve these with marinara dipping sauce, too!
Ingredients
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Handful all-purpose flour
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 5 medium cloves)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup finely shredded Italian cheese blend (I just used grated Parm)
Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.
Sprinkle the flour on the work surface. Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 10-inch square-which is just a little bigger than the sheet already is. Brush the bottom half of the pastry sheet with the egg mixture.
Sprinkle half the garlic, parsley and cheese on the bottom half of the pastry sheet. Fold the pastry in half over the garlic mixture. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture. Sprinkle the remaining garlic, parsley and cheese on the pastry. Roll the pastry lightly with a rolling pin. Cut the pastry into 20 (about 1/2-inch-wide) strips. Tie each strip into a “knot”. Place the pastries onto 2 baking sheets.
Bake for 12-18 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool on the baking sheets on wire racks for 10 minutes, then serve.
