Guava and Cream Cheese Pastelitos Recipe

Guava paste and cream cheese are a perfect match, which makes these easy puff pastry hand pies the perfect low-commitment weekend bake.

By
María del Mar Cuadra
A headshot of Maria del Mar Cuadra, a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
María del Mar Cuadra
María del Mar Cuadra is a food stylist, recipe developer, and art director. She has written three cookbooks and worked for America's Test Kitchen.
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Updated May 02, 2024
Overhead view of guava and cream cheese pastelitos, served on a square white plate with a cup of coffee nearby. One of the pies has been bitten, revealing the filling to the camera.

Serious Eats / María del Mar Cuadra

Why It Works

  • Calling for ready-made puff pastry makes this recipe convenient enough for a lazy weekend morning.
  • Amping up the tang of the cream cheese filling with sour cream and lemon juice helps the flavor of the guava paste pop.

"Welcome to Miami and the beaches." I love reading that welcome sign at Miami International Airport. The whole place screams vacation to me as I walk past the neon signs and bright T-shirts at the duty-free shops, the smell of Coppertone discernible in the air.

Granted, MIA has been under construction since my earliest memories of the place in the 1980s and some sections look like movie sets from Scarface, but it all says ¡bienvenida! to me, especially the Cuban restaurants Versailles and La Carreta.

Even if a layover is all the time I have in Miami, I have a mini-vacation when I bite into a pastelito de guayaba con queso at one of those restaurants.

Pastelitos—literally, "little pies"—are puff pastry turnovers filled with guava paste and cream cheese. Guava is a tropical fruit that's either round or oval-shaped with a pear-green, roughish skin. The interior is dotted with edible seeds and can be any color from pale yellow to watermelon pink, depending on the variety and ripeness.

Guava is eaten fresh and can be juiced, but most frequently, it's cooked into pastes, jams, jellies, and preserves. When cooked, it has an intense, exotic, tangy sweetness that blends melodiously with cream cheese. I've had pastelitos filled with sweetened cream cheese, but I prefer to enhance the tang with sour cream and lemon to really accentuate the guava.

To make it easier, I use frozen puff pastry. Have your pastelito with a cafecito, café con leche, or regular coffee if you don't have a guayabera-clad barista near.

February 2011

Recipe Details

Guava and Cream Cheese Pastelitos Recipe

Prep 20 mins
Cook 15 mins
Active 20 mins
Cooling Time 5 mins
Total 40 mins
Serves 8 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour for dusting counter
  • 2 sheets (one 17.3-ounce package) frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions (see note)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces and softened
  • 6 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces guava paste, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (see note)
  • 2 egg yolks

Directions

  1. Adjust oven racks to upper third and lower third positions and preheat oven to 400°F (205°C, see note). Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Lightly dust the counter and rolling pin with flour. Roll out each puff pastry sheet to a 12-inch square. Cut each into quarters to make four 6-inch squares.

  3. Beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup sour cream, lemon juice, and salt until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

  4. Place 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture in center of each square. Evenly distribute guava cubes among squares, arranging them on top of the cream cheese mixture.

    Overhead view of a filling-topped square of puff pastry being brushed with egg wash.

    Serious Eats / María del Mar Cuadra

  5. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons sour cream. Brush edges of each square with egg wash, then, fold the squares diagonally to form triangles. Seal the edges by pressing them with the tines of a fork. Brush triangles with egg wash.

    The square of puff pastry has been folded over the filling and crimped with a fork.

    Serious Eats / María del Mar Cuadra

  6. Place the pastelitos on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and golden, 12 to 15 minutes, alternating baking sheets halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheets to cooling racks. Cool pastelitos on sheets 5 to 10 minutes prior to serving. May be eaten at room temperature. Pastelitos are best eaten day they’re made.

Special Equipment

Two rimmed baking sheets; parchment paper; stand mixer or hand mixer (optional); rolling pin; ruler; pastry brush; two cooling racks

Notes

I used one (17.3-ounce) package of Pepperidge Farm brand frozen puff pastry sheets for this recipe, which contains two puff pastry sheets. Dufour brand frozen puff pastry comes in 14-ounce packages containing only one sheet of puff pastry. If using Dufour you will need two packages, and will get ten pastelitos, rather than eight. Roll the thawed pastry sheets out to 12- by 16-inches. Cut off a 12- by 4-inch strip. Cut remaining 12- by 12-inch piece into four 6-inch squares. Proceed with recipe, but increase guava to 10 ounces and cream cheese to 12 ounces. Fold the square pieces of pastry diagonally into triangles, and fold the two 12- by 4-inch strips in half over the filling to make rectangular pastelitos. Increase baking time to 15 to 20 minutes.

Guava paste is available in the Latin American aisle of most supermarkets and also in a variety of online stores. In a pinch, quince paste is an acceptable substitute.

Both versions of the recipe may be halved. Adjust oven rack to middle position if doing so.

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