Mushroom Goat Cheese Pinwheels

Mushroom Goat Cheese Pinwheels

These super tasty appetizers are easy to make for any get together. Plus, they are easy to make ahead of time since they freeze so well. If you make a couple of batches, you can have a roll of pinwheels in the freezer, ready to bake for any surprise visit from guests.

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Two pinwheel pastries on a white plate with a platter behind them.

Perfect Holiday Appetizer

What makes the perfect holiday appetizer? Well, I think it’s an appetizer that tastes great, is easy to make, can be made ahead of time and doesn’t fill up your guests so that they still have an appetite for dinner. These mushroom goat cheese pinwheels fit the bill. They are made of puff pastry, rolled around a filling of bacon, onion, mushrooms and goat cheese so you know they are going to be tasty. There are very few ingredients and are very easy to make. Once you’ve rolled the puff pastry into a log, you can freeze it until you’re ready to slice and bake it, so perfect to make ahead of time. Finally, you slice them into thin discs making them a perfect appetizer size. It’s not like eating a turnover before dinner… it’s a little puff pastry pinwheel. Tasty, easy, prep friendly and not filling. Perfect!

A sheet of puff pastry on a silicone mat with goat cheese, egg wash, chives and a mushroom filling next to it.

About Puff Pastry

Unlike regular pastry which has butter combined with flour and water, puff pastry is made of thin layers of regular pastry and butter. The pastry and butter are folded over on each other and rolled out, folded over on each other again and rolled out over and over again. This process (called lamination) is done so many times that the layers become extremely thin. When you put puff pastry into the oven, the water in the butter evaporates and as it does so, it pushes the layers of pastry apart – causing it to “puff”. It’s delicate and delicious. There are two brands of puff pastry that I really like. One is called Dufour and the other more readily available brand is Pepperidge Farms. Both come frozen and really need 24-hours in the refrigerator to defrost properly, so plan ahead.

Close up of bacon, mushrooms and onions in a large saute pan with a wooden spoon.

Variations on Filling

The filling for these pinwheels is made of bacon, onions and mushrooms – all evenly chopped in a nice small dice. Of course, if you wanted to make this a vegetarian appetizer, simply omit the bacon and sauté the onions and mushrooms in olive oil. You can also vary the filling and leave the mushrooms out if you want to – finely chopped broccoli or diced zucchini would be delicious sautéed with the bacon and onions; or marinated artichokes could be chopped and added to the cooked bacon and onion instead of the mushrooms (no need to cook the artichoke).

Four photos showing how to roll up puff pastry to make pinwheels.

How to Roll Puff Pastry Pinwheels

When you roll out the puff pastry, you will roll it into a rectangle with a two long sides and two short sides. Work with the long sides facing you. The only trick to rolling the pinwheels up is to leave a border of about 1-inch at the far end away from you and brush that border with egg wash. Then, just roll up the pastry around the filling and pinch the border against the roll of puff pastry to seal it well. Then, don’t skip the step to freeze the log of pinwheels – it’s just 20 minutes but it makes the step of slicing the logs so much easier.

Hands slicing a log of stuffed puff pastry.

How to Make Ahead

If you’re making this appetizer ahead of time, stop right now. Keep the log in the freezer, well wrapped until you are ready to bake and serve them. At that time, let the log sit out at room temperature for just a little while – perhaps 10 minutes or so – until you can slice through the log relatively easily. Slice the logs into ½-inch slices. You don’t have to cook them all at once, of course. Just slice off as many as you want to bake and send the log back into the freezer for next time.

Mushroom goat cheese pinwheels on a baking sheet.

Serve Warm

Once you’ve baked the pinwheels, serve them right away. They are much tastier warm than when they have cooled. 

Baked pastry pinwheels on a baking sheet.

How to Store and Re-heat

If there are any left over mushroom goat cheese pinwheels, just keep them in an airtight container and re-heat them gently in a 350ºF oven until warmed through – about 10 minutes.

Mushroom goat cheese pinwheels on a tray with plaid napkins around.

Mushroom Goat Cheese Pinwheels

Nutrition Info Print Recipe
  • Prep Time: 20 m
  • Cook Time: 20 m
  • Freezing Time: 1 h
  • Total Time: 1 h 40 m
  • Servings:
    24
    pinwheels

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces bacon
  • 1 onion diced
  • 8 ounces button mushrooms large dice
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 sheet puff pastry
  • 4 ounces goat cheese crumbled
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
  • 1 egg beaten

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes until it has softened but is not fully cooked. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes, until it starts to soften. Add the mushrooms and thyme, and continue to cook until the bacon is cooked through and the onions have browned. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool completely.

  2. Roll a sheet of puff pastry into a rectangle about 9-inches by 13-inches and place one of the long sides closest to you. Spread the mushroom mixture over the puff pastry, leaving a 1-inch border on the long side farthest from you. Scatter the goat cheese evenly over the mushroom mixture and sprinkle the chives on top. Brush the 1-inch puff pastry border with the egg wash. Roll the puff pastry up jelly-roll style, starting with the long end closest to you and rolling towards the empty 1-inch border. Pinch the edge to seal it shut. You should now have a 13-inch log of puff pastry. Place it in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
  3. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
  4. Remove the log from the freezer and using a gentle sawing motion, slice the puff pastry into 24 slices. Place the slices a baking sheet, leaving 1-inch between each slice. Brush the top of each pinwheel slice with egg wash.
  5. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes until the puff pastry is lightly browned. Transfer the baked pinwheels to a serving platter and serve warm.
Enjoy,
If you made this recipe, please add your comments and ratings below.

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Comments (4)Post a Reply

  1. 5 stars
    You might expect a standing ovation when serving these delicious treats. My only change was using the honey goat cheese from Trader Joe’s sells. It’s not really sweet,
    Also, when serving, I thought the underside was more attractive than the top.

    I like the idea of having them ready in the freezer.

    Reply

  3. I didn’t use to like goat cheese until friends taught me “there are a lot of different goat cheese”. They were right now we like goat cheese. They the one at Aldi.

    Reply

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