Thepuff pastry Christmas tree is a appetizer Christmas of great effect, also perfect to serve as finger food for a aperitif or to be used as centrepiece for lunch on December 25th or for the Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve dinner . Quick and easy to prepare, it can be made in just a few minutes and with very few ingredients: all you have to do is fill the puff pastry – we opted for the one already ready, but you can also use homemade – as you prefer, cut it into the shape of a Christmas tree and cook it in the oven until it becomes golden and Crisp. To give the pastry the appearance of a real Christmas fir tree, simply cut thin strips on the sides and roll them up: they will be the branches of the tree, which diners can easily detach and enjoy.

As a filling for our puff pastry tree we used spreadable cheese and cooked ham finely chopped, for the decoration we chose sliced ​​olives, which resemble traditional decorative balls, while the pastry scraps have become tasty stars of various sizes that we used to embellish our tree.

Also excellent cold, the puff pastry Christmas tree can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge, well wrapped in cling film transparent, or baked just before the guests arrive: in this way the pastry will be crumbly and delicious.

Discover our step-by-step recipe to make this tasty savory Christmas tree in just a few steps, ideal to accompany with other tasty dishes Christmas appetizers . Don’t miss other ways to prepare Christmas trees with puff pastry, such as the variant with ricotta and spinach, the version with puff pastry swirls or the irresistiblepuff pastry trees to use as placeholders. Finally, if you love dessert, your holiday table cannot miss theChristmas tree made of puff pastry with hazelnut cream.< /span>

Ingredients
FOR THE PUFF PASTRY TREE
PUFF PASTRY
2 rolls
BAKED HAM
80 gr
SPREADABLE CHEESE
50 gr
FOR BRUSHING
EGG
1
TO DECORATE
GREEN OLIVES
q.b.
SESAME SEEDS
q.b.
How to prepare the puff pastry Christmas tree

Step 1
Start preparing the puff pastry Christmas tree by delicately unrolling the first roll of puff pastry on a flat surface
1
. We chose the round puff pastry, but the rectangular one will also be fine.

Step 2
Do the same with the second disc of dough and overlap it with the first2.

Step 3
With a sharp knife, cut out the shape of a Christmas tree3and set the clippings aside.

Step 4
Then separate the two sheets4.

Step 5
Spread half the cheese on one of the two shapes5.

Step 6
Separately, finely chop the ham with a knife6.

Step 7
Spread the ham over the cheese7, making sure to create a homogeneous filling of the same thickness.

Step 8
Spread the remaining cream cheese on the second shape8.

Step 9
Then overlap the sheets, taking care to seal the edges well by pressing them lightly with your fingers9.

Step 10
Now obtain the branches of the tree, cutting out strips about 1.5 cm wide, stopping a couple of centimeters from the center10.

Step 11
Twist each strip on itself in a single motion11, so as not to break it, and make sure that the end of each branch is tightly closed, to prevent it from opening during cooking.

Step 12
At this point beat the egg12.

Step 13
And use it to brush the surface of the tree13.

Step 14
Then decorate the central trunk with the pitted and sliced ​​olives, like balls14.

Step 15
Take the dough scraps set aside and overlap them without re-kneading them15, then roll them out with a rolling pin.

Step 16
Using the appropriate pastry cutters, make a large star, which will act as a tip, and some smaller stars which will instead be the decorations.16, to be arranged as you like.

Step 17
Also brush the stars with the beaten egg and decorate them with the sesame seeds17. Bake at 180°C and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown. If the pastry browns too much during cooking, cover it with aluminum foil.

Step 18
The puff pastry Christmas tree is ready: take it out of the oven, let it cool and serve18.

How to stuff the puff pastry tree: ideas and suggestions
In addition to a classic filling of ham and cheese, you can fill the Christmas tree with puff pastry according to your tastes: you can for example choose speck or smoked scamorza, instead avoiding the mozzarella which could moisten the pastry too much.provola or a string cheese such as parmesan, robiola, ricotta or mortadella and combine them with salami,