Keto Puff Pastry Trees
These viral Puff Pastry Christmas trees are all over social media! The perfect fun, festive appetizer for the holiday season, these trees can easily be made sweet or savory and low carb. Of course, I opted for a pizza version.
1 tree
11
Servings
471
Calories
38.2g
Fat
25.4g
Protein
4g
Net Carb
8.1g
Total Carbs
With all of the holiday parties that take place this time of year, festive appetizers are just as desired as the main meal. This recipe for keto puff pastry trees is perfect for your next gathering. A puffy, low carb dough sandwiches gooey cheese, pepperoni and robust marinara sauce, and then folded to form a Christmas tree.
What makes this keto?
- Fathead dough – Traditional refrigerated puff pastry dough contains a lot carbs and is not keto approved. Instead of sandwiching the filling in between sheets of puff pastry, this recipe makes fathead dough – a keto pizza dough and solution to low carb puff pastry. The dough is keto friendly since it mostly made up of almond flour and melted mozzarella cheese.
- Keto pizza sauce – Although you can use store bought marinara for pizza sauce in this recipe, do make sure you check the label on the jar and look for one with no or low added sugars. Many brands like to add sugar to their sauce to help with flavor. Of course, the best course is to just make your own pizza sauce since you can control the ingredients.
- Cheese, cheese, more cheese – Not implying that cheese makes something keto, but it does help with flavor and plays a roll in making the low carb puff pastry. Melted mozzarella cheese in the dough works similar to gluten in regular pizza dough. It makes the dough elastic and moldable so you can shape it and roll it into various shapes.
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Keto Pastry Dough Ingredients
20 oz (7 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese - 3 cups almond flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
Pizza Toppings Ingredients
- 1/4 cup marinara sauce
- 12 slices provolone cheese
- 48 slices pepperoni
- Italian seasoning
- wooden skewers
Keto Puff Pastry Trees Directions
-
Melt mozzarella cheese
Add shredded mozzarella cheese to a large bowl. Melt in the microwave at 60 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.
Ingredients
- 20 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
Quick Tip
Can melt over the stovetop in a non-stick skillet if microwave not an option. -
Dry ingredients
While cheese is melting, add almond flour, baking powder and salt to a food processor. Pulse to combine.
Ingredients
- 3 cups almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
-
Make dough
Add melted mozzarella cheese and eggs to the food processor. Pulse until a dough ball forms and cheese is fully incorporated into the other ingredients. A food processor works best; however, an electric mixer can be used or you can knead the melted cheese and egg into the dry ingredients using your hands.
Quick Tip
Make sure the cheese is still melty and hasn't cooled down. Warm/hot melted cheese incorporates the best into the dough. Microwave the cheese again to heat up if necessary. -
Roll it out
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Divide the dough into two equal sized balls. Place one ball in between two sheets of parchment paper. Flatten the dough out with the palm of your hand to form a square block. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle shape sheet that is about 15" x 12" and 1/8" thick. Repeat with other dough ball.
Quick Tip
Lay down a damp paper towel underneath the bottom parchment paper to keep it from sliding as you roll the dough. As you roll, occasionally flip the dough sheet over, remove the top paper and reapply. Roll again to roll out any creases. -
Add pizza toppings
Starting with one sheet of dough, remove the top layer of parchment paper. Spread marinara sauce from edge to edge. Layer down provolone cheese and pepperoni slices. To the other dough sheet, remove the bottom parchment sheet. Place the dough sheet on top like a sandwich and remove the top parchment sheet. Lightly press to adhere.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup marinara sauce
- 12 slices provolone cheese
- 48 slices pepperoni
-
Cut into strips
Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut into 1 inch thick strips with the long end facing you.
Quick Tip
You should end up with 10-12 strips depending on how clean your edges are and how well you measured. -
Fold the trees
Working one at a time, fold strips back and forth in a zig-zag motion, making each layer slightly narrower than the last to create a tree shape. Add a skewer to the tree from the bottom through the top. Place on a parchment lined baking tray. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top before baking.
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Bake
Bake in a 400°F oven for about 16-17 minutes or until golden brown and dough appears cooked through.
I could only wish my friends would appreciate the work that went into these. Then I would try them. Maybe some time, I will just make them for me. I deserve to make the effort for me.