The first recipe is starting off with something sweet: Quesitos!
Quesitos is a Latin American dish, popular in Puerto Rico, is famously eaten as a sweet snack or dessert. It is mainly known for its sweet and succulent flavor. Making quesitos does not require many ingredients. To make quesitos, you must have the following:
- 1 package frozen puff pastry, cut into 5” x 5” squares
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp water (for the egg wash)
- Honey sugar syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
To make this tasty and sweet dish, you must follow these directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a medium-size bowl, mix the softened cream and sugar together. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg and water. Set aside.
- Remove frozen puff pastry from the freezer. Work quickly to cut pastry into 5-inch x 5-inch squares, with a sharp knife. The pastry will be easier to cut when frozen.
- On a clean flat surface, lay out the pastry squares. With a pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of the squares with the egg wash. (This will act as the glue)
- With a spoon, place about 1 Tbsp of the sweetened cream cheese mix on the left side of the pastry square.
- From the left side, fold the dough over the cheese and roll the dough.
- Place the rolled dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Space them an inch apart.
- Once all the quesitos are rolled out, lightly brush each one with the egg wash. Take a fork and insert into the top of the pastry dough a couple of times, creating tiny holes to allow the steam to escape.
- Place in preheated oven for about 25-35 minutes or until the pastry dough has completely puffed and the quesitos are golden brown.
- While the pastries are baking, in a medium pot, bring water, sugar and honey to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Keep warm.
- Remove quesitos from the oven and immediately brush on the first layer of syrup. Repeat with a second layer of syrup. Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
That is all! Enjoy and ¡buen provecho!
