Gluten-Free Sausage & Cheese Pastry

Looking for an easy, delicious appetizer to bring to your holiday gatherings? These gluten-free sausage and cheese pastry puffs are SO good and always a crowd-pleaser, I am truly asked to bring these every year to the parties I attend! They're flaky, cheesy, savory, and paired with the perfect sweet and tangy honey Dijon dipping sauce.

Even better? They're made with just four main ingredients and are surprisingly easy to put together. This is definitely one of my favorite appetizers for the holiday season!

Ingredients

For the Pastry Puffs:

• Jimmy Dean Sausage (make sure to check that your variety is gluten-free)

• 1 package Sweet Loren's Gluten-Free Pastry Sheets

• 1 bag shredded cheddar cheese

• 1 egg (for egg wash)

Optional: Parsley for garnish

For the Honey Dijon Dipping Sauce:

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

• 3 tablespoons honey

Feel free to adjust the dipping sauce measurements to your taste, I generally measure with my heart for these things!

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare Your Pastry Sheets

Take the gluten-free pastry sheets out of the packaging and lay them flat. I recommend letting them sit at room temperature for a little while. Gluten-free pastry sheets can be a little harder to work with, so allowing them to soften slightly makes the process much easier!

Step 2: Cook the Sausage

While your pastry sheets are sitting out, cook the sausage on the stovetop until fully browned and cooked through.

Transfer the cooked sausage to a mixing bowl and add your shredded cheddar cheese. Mix everything together until combined.

You can add any additional seasonings you'd like at this point, but honestly, I think the sausage and cheese are perfect just as they are!

Place the filling in the refrigerator for a little while to cool. This makes it much easier to work with when assembling your pastries.

Step 3: Cut Your Pastry Sheets

While your filling cools, cut your pastry sheets into small squares, approximately 3 x 3 inches. You can adjust the size depending on how big you'd like your appetizers.

One sheet should make approximately 12 sausage pastries!

Step 4: Assemble Your Pastries

There are a few different ways you can fold these. Some people like to roll (I have found this option really difficult with gluten free pastry sheets) or curl up the edges while leaving the middle open.

But my favorite way is to place the sausage and cheese filling toward the center of each square, fold the pastry diagonally, and pinch the middle together.

I like to leave both ends open, with the pinched middle helping keep the filling in place. You can also fold up the open edges slightly to create a little boat shape.

Don't worry about making them perfect! I think the homemade look makes them even cuter.

Step 5: Add Your Egg Wash & Bake

Place your assembled pastry puffs on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I like to give my parchment paper a light spray with Pam to help prevent sticking.

Whisk your egg and lightly brush the tops of each pastry with the egg wash. This helps give them that beautiful golden-brown finish.

Bake at 425°F for approximately 15 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked through and reaches your desired golden-brown color.

Since the sausage filling is already cooked, we're mainly baking the pastry until it's flaky and golden!

Step 6: Make the Honey Dijon Dipping Sauce

While your pastry puffs are baking, it's time to make the dipping sauce!

This is definitely a measure-with-your-heart situation because I don't have exact measurements. But if I had to guess, I'd start with:

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

• 3 tablespoons honey

Mix together until smooth. This creates the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, and it is SOOO yummy with the sausage and cheese pastries!

Step 7: Serve & Enjoy!

Remove your pastry puffs from the oven and let them sit for a few minutes before serving.

Arrange them on a cute serving platter with your honey Dijon dipping sauce on the side, and you're ready to serve!

A Few Tips!

• Let your gluten-free pastry sheets soften slightly before working with them.

• Make sure your sausage and cheese filling has cooled before assembling.

• Don't overfill your pastry squares, or they may be harder to fold and pinch together.

• Keep an eye on your pastries while baking since ovens and pastry brands can vary depending on what you use.

• Double the recipe if you're bringing these to a holiday party. Trust me, they go quickly! I will say, chances are you would have enough filling to create 12 more pastries if you wanted to extend the amount into 24 pastries, you would just need to buy another package of the Sweet Lorens Pastry Sheets.

My Favorite Part

I love recipes that look like you spent so much time making them but are actually super simple. These little pastry puffs are the perfect holiday appetizer, and the honey Dijon sauce really takes them to the next level.

They're flaky, cheesy, savory, and have just the right amount of sweetness from the dipping sauce. Whether you're hosting, bringing an appetizer to a family gathering, or just want something yummy to snack on, you really can't go wrong with these!

Happy holiday cooking!

#Pastry #Appetizer #HolidayFavorites #HolidayAppetizers #Gluten-Free #Gluten-FreeAppetizers