Strawberry Napoleons

My kid made these and we loved them so much, we made them weekly for a while. Delicious and a very easy recipe for kids. You could make them with other fruit or mixtures, depending on what you have or what’s in season. You could also add other flavors to the cream filling, or color it pink (or whatever color you like) to get creative and make it even more special.

Ingredients

1 box frozen puff pastry sheet (or homemade)

1 box instant vanilla pudding, 3-oz size

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups whipped topping (like Cool Whip) or sweetened whipped cream

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

Powdered sugar for dusting at the end (optional)

Melted chocolate, sprinkles, or other topping for drizzling at the end (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Prepare the frozen puff pastry by thawing it and cutting it into 12 equal rectangles, using a pizza cutter or knife. You could also use a ruler if needed.

3. Add the puff pastry rectangles to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the rectangles puff up and are golden brown.

4. Remove the puff pastry rectangles from the oven and allow to cool. Split them in half to make 24 rectangles.

5. In a bowl, mix the vanilla pudding with the milk. Let it set for 5 minutes. Fold in the whipped topping, to create the pastry cream.

6. Wash and slice the strawberries. If you use frozen strawberries, thaw them out and drain away most of the juice so they’re not too drippy.

7. Using a spoon or piping bag, put some cream on a rectangle, place some strawberry slices on the cream,   Add a little more cream, and then add a puff pastry rectangle on top.  Like a little sandwich.

8. On top of each little strawberry cream pastry sandwich, top with a little more cream and a few more strawberry slices.

9. At this point, you could drizzle them with melted chocolate or dust with powdered sugar, if you want.

10. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  They are best eaten fresh, but can be stored for a couple of days in the refrigerator.