Piggy Puffs

Little smoked sausages, bacon, raspberry jam, and mozzarella cheese wrapped in puff pastry, and dusted with powdered sugar.

Who hasn’t grown up eating pigs in a blanket? I remember making them with my mom, and my girls made them with me. Well, now those pigs in a blanket have grown up, gotten all fancy in the sweet and savory craze, and have become Piggy Puffs at our house! The traditional bread has been replaced with puff pastry, making these goodies so light. Once you bite into one of these, it's like the most wonderful confusion in your mouth. It's a pastry. It's meaty. It's sweet. It's a Piggy Puff.

There’s a lot of salt in all that sausage, bacon and cheese, so enter raspberry jam to balance things out. A little dusting of powdered sugar on the top and it’s almost like an appie and dessert in one. I used a beef sausage, but you can use turkey or pork, too. It’s all good.

True to our name, this really is a Big Bang Bite. A platter of these, a bottle of wine, a circle of friends, and it’s a party. Enjoy!

Makes 24

• 1 pkg. of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
• 24 Hillshire Farms Beef Lit’l Smokies
• 8 pieces of bacon
• 1 egg
• 6 thick pieces of deli-sliced mozzarella cheese, cut into fourths
• about ¼ cup of raspberry jam
• powdered sugar for dusting

Fry bacon until tender crisp and drain on paper towel. Do not over fry, or it will be too tough for the tender puff pastry. Cut them into thirds and set aside. Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside.

The puff pastry sheet is folded into thirds, so open flat and cut into 3 strips. Use a rolling pin and roll the strips, so you can cut them into 4 equal squares. If it’s sticky, dust with a little flour. It’s easier to assemble in batches, so start with these four.

Place a piece of bacon on the bottom, laying it point to point, so it looks like it’s resting on a diamond. Spread about a half teaspoon of raspberry jam on the bacon. Put a sausage on the jam. Cover the sausage with a piece of cheese. Bring the opposite points of the pastry together. Dab some egg on the ends to seal it when you overlap the points. Be sure to press and blend the ends of the dough into each other, so it doesn’t come apart while baking. 

Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Continue making the next batches. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and dust with powdered sugar.