What are Choclava Pillows? Well, they are pastries made with puff pastry sheets and filled with a mix of nuts, specifically: walnuts, peanuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, and hazelnuts. I used Planters NUT-rition Mix. Then add in some semi sweet chocolate and honey. Don’t forget to dust them with powdered sugar and drizzle with chocolate glaze! That’s a Choclava Pillow and they are my dessert for this months Lady Behind The Curtain Dessert Challenge. Our ingredients this month are walnuts and honey! Yum!! I hope you enjoy these Choclava pillows as much as I enjoyed making them!
Choclava Pillows
1 box Puff Pastry
1/2 pound Chopped Nuts
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 cup Honey
3 ounces Semi Sweet Chocolate
2 tablespoons melted Butter
Chocolate Glaze
3 tablespoons Butter
1/8 cup Cocoa Powder
1/8 cup Milk
1 1/4 cup Confectioners Sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pull your puff pastry sheets from the box and let them defrost
on a rack or tray.
Chop your nuts in a food processor, or by hand.
Add the cinnamon to the nuts, and set aside.
Place your sugar and water in a saucepan and let it boil
until the sugar is melted.
Add the vanilla and honey. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Unfold your pastry dough. To do this I placed a bit
of flour on a cutting board. The dough may stick if you don’t use
the flour, and it will be easier to work with.
Roll the dough out very lightly, just to erase the folds.
Cut the dough into 3″x3″ squares. You will have 9 squares.
Place whatever dough is left to the side.
Using any small cookie cutter you would like, cut out
nine pieces. I used an insert from a Linzer Cookie cutter,
and made a daisy design. You will need nine of these.
Place the cutout dough on top of each square.
Put a little dab of water on the back of the cutout before
you set it down. The water will help it stick.
Cut out nine more squares on the other piece of dough.
You will not need to cut out the design. These are
your bottom pieces.
Add the semi sweet chocolate to your nuts and stir to mix well.
Add the honey mix to the nut and chocolate mix.
Stir thoroughly.
Take about 1 tablespoon of mix and set it in the middle
of the bottom pastry sheet square. Work with one square
at a time to avoid getting them soggy.
Take some water on a pastry brush and edge the bottom piece
with the water. Place the top piece over the filling.
Press a fork around the edges of the dough.
Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter over the top.
Bake for 10-15 minutes.
Place on cooling rack until completely cooled.
Make your chocolate glaze by adding your butter to a
saucepan and melting it. Add the cocoa and milk and stir together.
Add 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar and stir. If it is too thin,
add the other 1/4 cup. Stir together.
Dust the tops of your pastries with confectioner’s sugar.
Drizzle your chocolate over the pastries and admire
how pretty they are!
Thanks for joining me today!
Check out what everyone else made:
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