Favorite FoodieBooks Friday!
These Pecan & Cinnamon and Hazelnut & Pecan Shady Characters Puff Pastries were inspired by one of my favorite books. Sh@dy Charac†ers – The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks by Ke!th H*uston.
It’s not really a coffee table book, but I use it as one. I like to see its funny, yet stunning title in bold white lettering embedded on the black long shadow of a giant white pilcrow floating on a bright red background. It’s a pretty jacket, over an exquisite white hardcover embossed with punctuation, symbols & other typographical marks, with black binding. The symbols stand out on the pages in bright red within the black text.
“Every chapter we write or type is a link to the past.”
SHADY CHARACTERS by Keith Houston
I happened across Shady Characters by Keith Houston while looking for a gift. I immediately loved the title, and when I picked it up and looked under the jacket and saw the punctuation marks embossed across the cover, I couldn’t help but run my fingers across it. It was just soo pretty! I love shopping for gifts when I buy one for me and one for them!
Jump to RecipesAbout Shady Characters
The book explains the origin, funny, and interesting historical facts about punctuation, symbols, and other typographical marks. Prior to reading this book, I was doing eBook design. When I would come across symbols in the manuscripts that I needed to incorporate in an eBook, I would honestly say (out loud) “What the blankety-blank” or “What the F*#!” or What the $*#! is that! There are so, so many, and it’s hard to get them to work across all platforms. (While I filled a glass of wine and dish of M&M’s & tested my first draft for the fifteenth time…)
Anyway, as the months and years went by, symbols & punctuation marks wormed a way into my heart. I enjoyed the challenge. And now with Twitter, Instagram & Facebook, I see them all the time, creatively used in place of swear words and snark.
Looking at this book the other day, I immediately thought of palmiers. They are light and subtly sweet and you can flavor them with whatever makes you happy! The last time I made them I used cream cheese and a hint of cinnamon. I wish I had kids or family to bake for, and as luck may have it, I’m spending the week with family so I can bake for four instead of two!
I’m baking these delightful treats two ways. One with hazelnut spread & pecans and the other with just cinnamon, sugar, and pecans. Let’s see which goes first!
If you love these cookies try my Bacon Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies!
Nutella Cream Cheese Pecan Puffy Twists (AKA Nutella Shady Characters)
Equipment
- spatula
- small bowls
- rolling pin
- cutting board/surface
- sharp knife or pizza cutter
- 2 cookie sheets
- 2 Cooling racks
Ingredients
- ½ lb puff pastry One sheet, all butter is the best.
- 3 tbsp cream cheese I used whipped cream cheese.
- 2 tbsp Nutella Nutella, or hazelnut spread
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon Optional, just a tiny bit sprinkled over the puff pastry sheet. I like King Arthur, or Enspice!
- 2½ tbsp pecans Optional. If using pecans, you will need them finely chopped or ground. If you buy chopped, mince them until they are fine but not mushy. You could use hazelnuts, or walnuts…
Instructions
- Thaw puff pastry according to package directions. (Remove puff pastry from freezer about 30 minutes prior to making the pastries.) I recommend chilling the pastries prior to baking, so have some flat surfaces in the fridge or freezer ready to accommodate your baking sheets, if possible. If not, just work quickly, and have your oven at 400° ready to bake! I recommend lining two baking sheets with parchment paper per 1 sheet of puff pastry.
- In a small bowl, mix nutella and cream cheese together. Adjust for your taste. If you like more nutella and less cream cheese, go for it!.
- Dust your counter or work surface with flour or white sugar, and gently roll out a sheet of puff pastry to remove the creases, but not too thin!
- Quickly spread the cream cheese & hazelnut spread mixture over the puff pastry. It should be thin, or the dough will get messy and runny.
- Sprinkle finely chopped or ground nuts over the cream cheese, nutella mixture. If desired, sprinkle a very light dusting of cinnamon over the nuts.
- If you want a basic palmier shape, roll the dough equally from both short sides for large palmiers, or roll from the long sides for small ones. Roll the dough in parchment and refrigerate, or freeze for thirty minutes before slicing them and baking. You can even roll it up jelly roll style.
- If you want to twist them into whatever shape you want, fold the dough in half and use a sharp long knife, or better yet, a pizza cutter. Cut into about 1/2" wide strips or 12-15 strips. Just cut them evenly for even baking.
- Twist into shady characters, or whatever shape you'd like on baking sheets, lined with parchment paper if you have it. If not, no big deal.
- I recommend popping these cuties in the fridge or freezer for a good half hour before baking. If not, get them in the oven asap at 400° and bake for about 10-14 minutes, or until golden brown, while you prepare the other sheet of pastries.
- Place cookie sheet on a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes before gently sliding them off the baking sheet to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Nutrition
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pecan Puffy Twists (AKA Shady Characters)
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry One box usually has two sheets. This recipe uses one sheet. Double the filling recipe, or try another filling for the other sheet! All butter is the best.
- 6 tbsp cream cheese
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp pecans Optional. You will need to use ground or finely chopped. You could use hazelnuts, or walnuts…
- 1 tbsp white sugar More or less depending on how you like them!
Instructions
- Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions. (Remove puff pastry from freezer about 30 minutes prior to making the pastries. or allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)
- I recommend chilling the pastries prior to baking, so have some flat surfaces in the fridge or freezer ready to accommodate your baking sheets, if possible. If not, just work quickly, and have your oven at 400° ready to bake! You will probably need two cookie sheets per 1 sheet of puff pastry. I recommend lining the baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix cream cheese, cinnamon and 1/2 tbsp sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Taste for sweetness. If you want it sweeter, add the other half tbsp of sugar! Feel free to add more cinnamon or even some nutmeg if you want to!
- Dust your counter or work surface with flour or white sugar, and gently roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry. Don't roll it too thin, just enough to smooth out the folds.
- With a spatula, quickly spread the cream cheese mixture over the entire pastry. It should be a thin layer.
- Sprinkle 2 tbsp ground or finely chopped nuts over the cream cheese.
- If you want a basic palmier shape, roll the dough equally from both short sides for large palmiers, or roll from the long sides for small ones. Roll the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate, or freeze for thirty minutes before slicing them and baking. You can even roll it up jelly roll style.
- If you want to shape these like I did, fold the dough in half so you have an almost square shape. Using a sharp long knife, or better yet, a pizza cutter. Cut into about 12-15 even strips.
- Work quickly to shape the strips, or put the dough back into the refrigerator if it's getting too soft. Twist into whatever Shady Character shapes you want and put them immediately onto the lined baking sheet.
- I recommend popping these cuties in the fridge or freezer for a good half hour before baking. If not, get them in the oven asap at 400° and bake for about 10-14 minutes, or until golden brows.
- Place cookie sheet on a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes before gently sliding them off the baking sheet to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- These are best served right away while crispy, but they are just as tasty the next morning!
These look so good and perfect with a cup of coffee. I wish I had one with my coffee now!
Thanks! They were awesome with coffee! The cream cheese flavor really came out the next day, so even though they were soft the next day, the flavors really intensified. I had so much fun baking them in my mother in-laws amazing kitchen too. Back home and back to work, vacation’s over.