Bacon Parmesan Twists

Puff pastry spread with Dijon and sprinkled with Parmesan, then twisted with streaky bacon, is baked till it's crispy, puffed and golden. Bacon Parmesan Twists are a divine savory snack!

A number of years ago, I discovered refrigerated puff pastry sheets and I began a crazy period when they featured almost daily in my baking repertoire with sweet fillings, savory toppings and all the permutations between the two. I even taught a small class for a few of my Malaysian friends who had never used puffed pastry and wanted to be able to duplicate some of my treats for their families. The beauty of puff pastry sheets is that you can throw them in the freezer (if they haven't already come frozen) to extend their use-by date because they thaw so quickly, even as you are preheating your oven. Then they bake to golden crunchy perfection!

Bacon Parmesan Twists

I’ve adapted my recipe from this one on the BBC website. You can cut the twists into smaller pieces once baked to make the perfect snacking nibbles with cocktails. Even handier, these savory treats can be frozen once baked and rewarmed in the oven when ready to serve. Keeping a supply of puff pastry sheets in the freezer is like paying your insurance premiums. Except in this case, it is a delight to be able to take advantage of being paid up.

Ingredients
1 x 14 oz or 400g puff pastry sheet
Plain flour, for dusting, if not using parchment to roll your pastry
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup or 45g freshly grated Parmesan
8-9 slices good-quality streaky bacon (not thick cut!)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method
Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Lay one slice of bacon along side your sheet of puff pasty and roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface or another piece of baking parchment so that it is as wide as that slice is long. (There is no need to remove the plastic sheet the pastry was probably rolled up with in the package. Just leave it on.)

You can see the original blue plastic sheet that the puff pastry was rolled up in underneath.
That's how big the sheet was originally.

Turn the pastry so that the longest side is facing you and spread on the mustard.

Sprinkle with the cheese.

Line the pieces of bacon up on the pastry, leaving a small gap between them.

Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry between each slice of bacon.

Carefully start at one end and twist each piece of pastry 4-5 times.

Place them on the prepared baking tray, leaving at least two to three inches in between the twists to allow space for the puff pastry to expand. You may have to bake these in two batches, depending on the size of your pan. Chill the pastry twists in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Remove the twists from the refrigerator and brush with the beaten egg.

Bake the twists for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is well risen and golden-brown and the bacon is crispy.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Honey Whiskey Mini Bundts with Honey Whiskey Glaze #BundtBakers

Baking with honey and bourbon whiskey in the batter and adding a honey bourbon glaze gives these little Bundt cakes a sweet and almost smoky flavor that keeps you wanting just one more small piece. Till they are all gone. 

This month’s Bundt Baker theme, ably hosted by Laura of Baking in Pyjamas, is honey! I started searching for recipes with honey online, looking for an interesting twist, when I came across a recipe for a honey whiskey cake. Come to find out, there is an actual thing made by Jack Daniels, called honey whiskey. Who knew? That recipe called for a yellow cake mix so I kept the idea and created my own, using normal Jack Daniels and Ugandan honey, brought back from my trip there last February. The Ugandan honey is a deep amber color and has quite a strong flavor so it was well able to compete with the strong bourbon to flavor this cake.

Make sure to scroll to the bottom and see all the other lovely honey Bundt links from the group this month!

Ingredients – for a five-cup capacity mini Bundt pan making six mini Bundts
For the batter:
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
6 tablespoon or 85g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for buttering pan
2 eggs
2 cups or 250g flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup or 60ml honey
2/3 cup or 155ml milk, at room temperature
1/3 cup or 80ml bourbon
3/4 cup or 90g chopped pecans

For the syrup/glaze:
1/4 cup or 60g butter
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup or 60ml honey
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
1/4 cup or 60ml bourbon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your mini Bundt pan by using a pastry brush to paint the inside and around the edges liberally with butter. Don’t be shy.

Sprinkle your pecans into the bottom of the buttered Bundt pan.

Combine your flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside. Combine the milk, bourbon and honey for the batter in a measuring vessel and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between them.

First egg

Second egg

Now add half of the flour mixture and half of the liquid mixture and beat well.

Add the balance of the flour and liquid mixture and beat well again.

Gently scoop or spoon the batter into your prepared pan, on top of the pecans.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning the mini Bundts out of the pan.

Cool on a wire rack while you make the syrup glaze.

Put all the ingredients for the syrup in a small pot and heat it until boiling. Allow to boil for a few minutes, until it reduces slightly. Turn off the fire and allow to cool for a few minutes.

That's the bourbon going in and the dark honey already in the pot.

Put your mini Bundts in a pan or plate with sides to catch the glaze that doesn’t soak in immediately and drizzle the syrupy glaze, at little at a time, over all of the Bundts.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely honey Bundts we have for you this month!

• A Taste of Honey by Margaret at Tea and Scones 
• Hipy Papy Bthuthdth Thuthda Bthuthdy Cake by Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Honey Almond Bundt Cake by Terri at Love and Confections
• Honey Baba au Rhum by Kelly at Passion Kneaded
• Honey Banana Bundt by Jane at Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Honey Bundt Cake with Lemon Honey Glaze by Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes
• Honey Bunny Bundt Cake by Teri at The Freshman Cook
• Honey Caramel Apple Bundt Cake by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
• Honey Glazed Blackberry Cornmeal Bundt Cake by Tux at Brooklyn Homemaker
• Honey Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake by Lauren at Gate to Plate
• Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Pound Cake by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Honey Whiskey Mini Bundt Cakes with Honey Whiskey Glaze by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Orange Hazelnut Bundt Cake by Zainab at Blahnik Baker
• Whole Wheat Honey Spiced Apple Breakfast Bundtlettes by Laura at The Spiced Life

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send me (Stacy) an email WITH your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Cocktail Sausages

If you are looking for an easy appetizer that will disappear in record time, may I suggest these sweet and spicy bacon cocktail sausages! With chili sauce and bacon wrapped around little sausages they are then topped with brown sugar and baked till sticky.

This recipe is easily doubled or trebled. The only limiting parameter is the size of your baking pan because you don’t want to crowd them in too tightly or the bacon won’t get crispy. I was home alone so I just made a dozen. At a time. Ahem. The photos you see here are actually batch number two. The package of cocktail sausages was 300g so it didn’t take me long to get through them all. It is hard to resist these sweet and spicy bacon-wrapped morsels once you've tried them the first time.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Cocktail Sausages

An easy but delicious appetizer with bacon, cocktail sausages and chili sauce. These are highly addictive. Be warned.

Ingredients
1 dozen or about 90-100g cocktail sausages
2-3 tablespoons extra hot chili sauce (We love ABC brand from Indonesia.)
4 thin slices or rashers streaky bacon
2-3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

For serving: extra chili sauce for dipping, if desired

Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C.

Put your bacon slices between two pieces of cling film and gently roll them out with a rolling pin from end to end. You can do a couple of slices at a time. This will stretch them so that they are even thinner so each little sausage can still be rolled in bacon twice around but it will still bake up crispy.

Cut each slice of bacon into thirds.

Smear a little chili sauce on one end of each piece of bacon. Roll them around the cocktail sausages and secure with a toothpick or, if you are feeling fancy, call them cocktail sticks.

Lay them out in a big baking pan and sprinkle on half the brown sugar.

Bake for six or seven minutes and then remove from the oven. Turn the sausages over and sprinkle on the balance of the brown sugar.

Cook for about six to seven minutes more or until the bacon looks crispy enough for your liking.

Remove from the pan and rest them briefly on paper towels to drain the fat away. I tend to use one sheet of paper towel (so the newsprint doesn’t get on the food) with newspaper underneath.

Serve with extra chili sauce for dipping, if desired. It’s a must at our house.

Enjoy!

You try to take photos without snitching one!  Can't be done.