Pastelitos de Guayaba + Queso! Cuban pastries (turnovers) made with puff pastry and filled with guava paste and cream cheese. Just 4 ingredients!
Do you remember the first time you tried a pastelito? I don’t. I’m sure I was a toddler though…and I’m sure I loved it!
To this day, pastelitos de guayaba are my favorite pastry. Do you have a favorite pastry or turnover? I bet this one will beat out that one in a heartbeat!
Flaky crust filled with smooth, fruity guava and creamy, thick cream cheese. You don’t even need the cheese! Mmmm. It’s the most iconic part of a Cuban breakfast! (Aside from ham croquetas, of course.)
I had never made pastelitos at home until I saw Marta Darby’s recipe (see the background story below!). I’m very fortunate to live in Miami where Cuban pastries are as abundant as the Cubans that live here. There’s a Cuban bakery on literally every corner! You want croquetas, Cuban bread or pastelitos? Just drive a block and find a bakery hidden in a corner. Sometimes the temptation is real, my friends.
Making these pastelitos de guayaba y queso was beyond easy (which is dangerous). Just 4 ingredients using puff pastry sheets, guava paste, cream cheese and a whisked egg to seal the deal.
How To Make Guava & Cheese Pastelitos
First things first, you have to thaw the puff pastry for at least 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cut guava into thin slices. If using cream cheese, cut the block into slices too. Unfold one of the pastry sheets and place it on the cookie sheet.
Place 6 slices of guava per pastry sheet fold about 1-2 inches apart (you’ll have 18 slices total on the entire pastry sheet). Add cream cheese over guava paste slices (optional). Personally, I love guava pastelitos without the cream cheese but you do you!
Unfold the second pastry sheet and place it over the other one that now has the guava paste slices. Cut into 9 squares and score the tops of each one. No need to divide the squares. Leave everything intact.
Brush egg wash on each one to get that flaky crust. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. That’s all folks!
The first time I posted this recipe, my friends asked for a care package. Funny, they can all get these ANYWHERE here in Miami but for some reason, nothing beats “homemade”.
I hope you make these and you LOVE them as much as I do!
Ingredients
- 1 package puff pastry sheets, (I used Pepperidge Farm)
- 1 package guava paste, (I like the Conchita brand)
- 1 package cream cheese**, optional (the block over the spreadable kind)
- 1 egg**, whisked
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions, usually about 20-30 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut guava into thin slices. If using cream cheese, cut the block into slices too. Unfold one of the pastry sheets and place it on the cookie sheet.
- Place 6 slices of guava per pastry sheet fold about 1-2 inches apart (you'll have 18 slices total on the entire pastry sheet). Add cream cheese over guava paste slices (optional).
- Unfold the second pastry sheet and place it over the other one that now has the guava paste slices.
- Cut into 9 squares and score the tops of each one. No need to divide the squares. Leave everything intact. Brush egg wash on each one to get that flaky crust.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Originally posted in October 2016. Updated photos + recipe in January 2019.
The Background Story
I was on the phone with my friend, JennyLee, talking about blog stuff and food. Story of my life. It was a typical day for me. Working, reading, posting. JennyLee suggests, “You should tag Marta Darby on the Maria cookie truffles pic.”
“omg no, she’s like famous lol” I said. Little ol’ me tagging Marta Darby, author of the My Big, Fat, Cuban family blog. Yeah right. She probably wouldn’t even care about this. Naturally, I ignored my brain and did it anyway. To my surprise, not only did she like AND comment on the photo, she reposted it too! Suddenly my analytics were going crazy and I realized it was because she had ALSO shared the Maria cookie truffles recipe on her Facebook page! I died.
This OG blogger was reposting and loving MY posts. Mine. Little ol’ me!? Oh yeah! Watch out, JLo! Not only has she brought us some awesomely relatable content about growing up in a Cuban family which I completely understand and empathize with, she’s been incredibly supportive of me and this blog. For that, I will forever be grateful. *heart emoji*
To celebrate this “milestone”, it’s only natural that I make pastelitos de guayaba using the quick and easy method she showed us on her blog. Try not to dance to the music on the video. Betcha can’t! A BIG congrats to My Big, Fat, Cuban Family on over 10 years of blog awesomeness!
Ok..So I’ve never had these. But the hubs of course LOVES them and is drooling over my computer screen while I check out the recipe. Have I told you how much I love your site?? You’re teaching me to make all the things my hubs loves and grew up with! Plus I can make them for our kids so they get that experience too. And I love My Big Fat Cuban Family, that’s so exciting that she gave some love to your site. Congrats. I need to buy her Cuban Food Poster to put up in my kitchen. It’s been on my list in Etsy for-ev-er.
Hi Serene! It makes me so happy to hear that you and your hubby are loving these recipes! It inspires me to continue to make more of them. :) This recipe in particular is sooo easy to make (it’s kinda ridiculous lol), not to mention, absolutely delicious. Someone here tried one of these and asked me what bakery I bought it from. I was like whaaaaa. Ha! And yes, Marta is amazing! I have her Cuban food poster. It’s sooo cute! Thanks again for all the love! Xo
My love for these is SO REAL!! I remember when I was FIU, I’d always get a pastelito after a stressful day or hard exam!! Now that I’m living in DC, I can’t find them there! But it’s the perfect excuse to make them homemade! :) These look incredible!
DO IT! It’s sooo easy to make! :)
Hi! Thanks so much for the recipe. :) I was wondering if you had any experience with freezing the fully assembled, but NOT yet cooked pastelito? Do they hold well? I want to prep them in a way that my friend can thaw and bake them fresh whenever she likes. Any input would be appreciated! Thank you!
Love the pastries, when i make them i hate to share them. Thats how much i love them, but i do share some
Hola Jamie!
I gave in to my cravings and made these pastelitos yesterday and was blown away by how EASY and DELICIOUS the recipe was! I veganized it up a bit and created my own version which I shared on my blog! I hope you check it out and let me know what you think :) https://themeldez.com/2018/01/10/easy-vegan-guava-cheese-pastries-pastelitos-de-guayaba-y-queso/
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, they help me feel closer to home in the kitchen ❤️?
Un fuerte abrazo,
Melanie.
THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY. Thank you for sharing!! xo
THanks for the fairly quick and easy recipe. The pastelitos came out perfect. I dusted powder sugar on top for an added touch. Delicious.
OMG- Jamie! I relocated across the country, was jonesing some pastelitos… Googled the recipe and came across your blog! Not only am I happy to find the recipe, but am so happy to see you following your passion!
Omg Maritza HI! It’s been so long. Thank you for the kind words! Hope all is well with you. Enjoy the crap outta these pastelitos! <3
How would you store these? I want to make them a day ahead.
Hi Rebecca, these are best served right out of the oven but if you wanted to make them a day ahead, I’d say to save them in an airtight container at room temperature. Warm up before serving. Hope that helps!
Delicious!! They are easy to make and the directions explain everything perfectly… I can add this to the rest of the recipes that I’ve learned from Jamie… Thank you for such great ideas!!
SO happy you enjoy my recipes, Andrea! Thank you! <3
I saw this recipe and had to try them. Visiting family in MN, this makes for a quick and easy dessert. I’m already drooling. Thanks for sharing.
Happy to hear that, Carol!! Enjoy!!
Just made these and tasted great! I lived in Miami for about 9 years and now that I’m in Arizona finding guava pastries rarely happens. Going to stay stocked in these ingredients now, especially with how easy the prep is! Thanks
I made these with my twin grand daughters. They turned out flaky and tasty.. The girls said they look professional.
Amazing!! So happy to hear that!!
Thank you Jamie! Like you, i can’t remember when I first tasted pastelitos de Guayaba. They’ve just always been a treat.. long story short. I live in Florida but it’s so hard these days to find a bakery that makes them fresh and without all the added sugar, glaze, etc. Toppings. So I thought let me look for a recipe rather than trying to find yet another bakery to try. Never in a million years would it have occurred to me that these were so simple to make. Hope to wow the family with this recipe and say goodbye to hunting for a bakery that Does them justice. Thank you so much! So glad to have found your blog!
That makes me so happy, Gigi! Hope you and your family enjoy them! :)