Sausage Apricot and Caramelized Onion Pastries

Sausage, Dried Apricot, and Caramelized Onion Pastries are a bit of work. Still, the beauty of this recipe is that they freeze beautifully, and you can bake them directly from the freezer.  You can have these tasty savory treats anytime you want a warm snack. Stuffed with sausage, caramelized onions, and bourbon-soaked dried apricots, this isn’t your regular pizza rolls or pigs in the blanket like ones served on many a New Year’s or Game Day event. It is a real homemade delicious snack of flakey pastry and savory filling like you have never had before.

I have posted variations of these pastries before, stuffed with all kinds of fillings. The original one stuffed with leeks, sausage, and apples is still my go-to when I want to have some appetizers in my freezer. Some of the fantastic variations I have come up with, like these filled with butternut squash and goat cheese and even more exotic pastries stuffed with blue cheese and walnuts, are also excellent.  The original recipe comes from an old cookbook I have treasured for many years called Cold Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase. She is also one of the coauthors of the famed Silver Pallet Cookbook of the 1980s. This cookbook has some great recipes, including a pumpkin lasagna that is to die for. But this recipe for “Paterson Pastries” has been a staple in my kitchen since I bought the book when it was published in 1990!

I have played this recipe with more variations than probably any other recipe I know. It is because of the recipe for the dough. It is so easy to make using a food processor and never seems to fail me. The original recipe calls for cheddar, but any good, flavored cheese will transform the dough into a different flavored sensation. The dough is very easy to work with and forgiving. Even after rerolling several times, it always bakes up flakey and flavorful. The key is to not blend the butter or the cheese too much. You want to still have bits of butter and cheese so that when the pastry bakes, it makes all the flakey layers that give these pastries such awesome texture.

Of course, the filling matters, too. My mind is always coming up with new combinations. Manchego, olive, and ham for example. This summer, I made these with chilis in adobe, and they were a massive hit at a social distance garden gathering I got to go to. I have even more ideas floating in my head that I want to share. Perhaps I should try and write a whole book on this …lol!

For this winter, I decided to try a variation. I think these sausage, dried apricot, and caramelized Onion Pastries turned out incredible. The filling has got these savory flavors with just a little sweetness from the apricots and a hint of bourbon. They are addictive. I have eaten more than I should of these savory treats. They freeze perfectly, which means you can have some of these anytime you want. All you have to do is heat the oven and brush some egg glaze over the frozen pastries, bake, and boom! In about 30 minutes, you have warm, savory pastries to have as an appetizer or late-night snack that are an infinitely better snack than any pizza roll.

As this year finally comes to an end, I hope that you will find love, joy, and happiness in whatever comes next in this crazy time. Please stay safe and think of others in your choices of what you do. We will get through this. Happy New Year!

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Sausage, Dried Apricot, and Caramelized Onion Pastries

Gruyere pastries stuffed with sausage, caramelized onion, and dried apricots. Great for any occasion.

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: appetizer, apricot jam, cheese pastry, hot pastry, pastries, sausage, savory, savory pastries

Servings: 3 dozen

Ingredients

Pastry

• 3 1 ⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1 ⁄4 cups 2 1⁄2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled, cut into bits
• 2 1 ⁄2 cups grated Gruyere or Comté
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ⁄4 tsp white pepper
• 2 large eggs

Filling

• 1 cup finely chopped dried apricots
• ½ cup bourbon or warm water
• 4 tablespoons 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 8 ounces bulk pork sausage or breakfast sausage
• 4 tablespoons sherry Calvados, or brandy
• 3 ⁄4 cup shredded Gruyere or Comté
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Egg Wash

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

1. For the pastry:
2. Place the flour, butter, salt, and white pepper in a food processor that is 9 cups or larger, (11 cups is the perfect size). If you don't have a food processor, you can use a pastry blender for this dough.
3. Process for a minute or so. You still want to have pea-sized chunks of butter.
4. Add the grated cheddar cheese and again process just for a minute until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. There can still be little bits of butter and cheese. Try not to overwork the dough.
5. Add in the eggs and process until the dough just starts to come together. It should still look like crumbles. There should still be parts that are not entirely combined. That is ok. It will blend when you work it on the work surface.
6. Scrape the mixture onto a clean work surface.
7. Using the heels of your hands, gently push the dough together, making sure the dough is blended but still has bits of cheese visible. The dough may be slightly sticky and may stick to the work surface a little.
8. Do not overwork the dough.
9. Form the dough into a large disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap, scraping it off the counter if necessary.
10. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. This dough can be made ahead and is still great for several days. It can also be frozen for up to one month.
11. For the filling
12. Soak the dried apricots in the bourbon or warm water until plumped up, about 30 minutes
13. In a large skillet, sauté the sausage until cooked through. Remove to some paper towels to drain.
14. In the same skillet, use the fat from the sausage or some butter to equal about 2 tablespoons. Over medium-low heat, slowly sauté the chopped onion until nicely golden brown and beginning to caramelize. This should take about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it to prevent the onion from burning.
15. Crumble the cooked sausage to have no large lumps.
16. Stir in the crumbled sausage, the dried apricots, along with any extra liquid from the apricots into the caramelized onions. Stir to heat through.
17. Take off the heat and stir in the grated cheese.
18. The filling can be used immediately. But it makes your life easier if you let the filling chill for an hour or more. The filling will then scoop and mound without running.
19. To assemble the pastries.
20. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. If you plan to freeze them, line a tray with wax paper and stack layers with more wax paper between them to freeze. Then when frozen bag in plastic bags.
21. Beat the egg with the tablespoon of water and set aside.
22. Divide the pastry dough in half, roll out and fill one half at a time for easier handling.
23. Roll the dough 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface, or if you can, roll out to the thickness of a quarter.
24. Using a round cookie cutter about 2 ¾-3 inches in diameter (the one I used is 2 ¾"), cut out as many circles as possible from the dough. Save the scraps to make more circles. This dough can be re-rolled a couple of times.
25. I find it easier to line up the circles in rows to fill them.
26. Lightly brush the surface of all the circles with the egg wash.
27. Scoop 1 generous tablespoon of the filling onto half of the brushed circles. If you have a cookie scoop that is about 1 tablespoon, it works fantastic here.
28. Cover each of the filled circles with the other half of the circles glaze side down. Press down on the top circles' edges to seal. Gently stretching to make the edges come together.
29. Using a fork, firmly crimp the edges together.
30. Place on the prepared pans or trays to chill or freeze. You can layer with wax paper onto one tray. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Then re-roll the scraps. You will get around 40 or more in total.
31. If you are baking them later, they can be chilled or frozen in multiple wax paper layers. If freezing, freeze them on a tray and then bag them in freezer bags. They will keep for 6 months or more.
32. When ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 350°.
33. Place as many as you would like on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet spaced about 2 inches apart.
34. Brush the pastries with more egg wash; Even if they are frozen, they can go directly into the preheated oven. Just brush them thoroughly with egg wash.
35. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. If they are frozen, they will take a couple of minutes more. Be careful not to over-cook them. They go from golden to burnt very quickly.
36. Serve while still warm.

Recipe Notes

Note, This dough is incredibly easy to work with, and I actually find it easier to roll out if the dough comes to room temperature. You are chilling it to relax the gluten.