Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels
Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels are super simple to make but they taste oh so delicious. With just a few ingredients, and some leftover cranberry sauce, you can have a fun and tasty appetizer.
Puff pastry comes in a box of 2 sheets. For the most part anyway. I always have a recipe idea for one sheet, but not sure what to do with the second sheet. This is the case with the Holiday Bake Brie I made on Monday. I had 2 sheets, but only needed one for that recipe. So, what do you do with the second sheet? Make some Cranberry Cream Cheese Roll ups!
What is a Pinwheel?
They’re usually a cold recipe. Actually called a pinwheel sandwich, it was invented around the 10th century. It was like a canapé because it was a piece of bread wrapped with like chicken or something savory. Sometimes puff pastry was rolled up with savory ingredients, but most of the time it was regular bread.
Recipes for pinwheel started showing up in cookbooks around the late 1920s. However, these initial pinwheels were not rolled like we’re used to seeing today. The rolled version didn’t show up in kitchens for a few more years.
Fast forward to the 70s where we find canapes becoming more and more popular as appetizers for dinner parties. However, it wasn’t until the late 80s before we see the pinwheels we’re used to seeing today. That’s when tortillas became popular for home cooks to make tortillas, fajitas, or burritos.
With this new food trend comes new creations. We find fillings like cream cheese and deli meats starting to become more and more popular. I remember when my sister got married, we had pinwheel sandwiches for her bridal shower and, I think, her baby shower, too. That’s in the late 80s to early 90s. For the most part they were made from tortillas with cream cheese and turkey or ham with a sliced cheese like Swiss or Cheddar.
But these pinwheels aren’t those pinwheels. Puff pastry pinwheels are more in line with palmiers, turnovers, and even savory croissants. I guess you could make sweet puff pastry pinwheels. I didn’t think about that. Anyway, these puff pastry pinwheels have cream cheese and cranberry sauce in them. So, I guess sort of sweet, but not really because the cranberry sauce is sweet tart.
What’s in Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels?
Cranberry sauce and cream cheese for starters. As I was thinking about making these, I was worried the cream cheese would just melt all over the silpat mat. So, I decided to add an egg and some flour to the mix. That definitely kept the cream cheese from melting all over the place. It also allowed the cranberries to really bind with the cream cheese making the one.
Feel free to flavor these sweet or savory herbs and spices. I did not. I really wanted the simple flavors of the cranberries and cream cheese to come through. And, yes, these are the same cranberries I used in the recipe on Monday for the Holiday Baked Brie.
For those that didn’t read that post, it’s a simple mix of some dried cranberries just shy of past their prime. They were starting to be too hard to snack on. But we all know I don’t like to throw things away. I try to find a way to either preserve it for later or use it to make something new.
So, that’s what I did. I took those dried cranberries and put them in a pot with some water and a little sugar. They simmered for quite a while. So much so that they turned out to be, pretty much, a preserve. The pectin thickened the sauce making it thick and delicious. I could easily spread it on some toast!
How do you make Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels?
They are super simple to make. You won’t believe how simple they are. First, combine the cream cheese with the cranberries, egg, and flour. If you’re adding sweet or savory herbs and spices, feel free to add them, too. I wanted the cranberries to shine so I didn’t add anything else. A little orange zest would be delicious, though. With a little vanilla extract.
Beat the ingredients until smooth. Then open your puff pastry and put it on your work surface. I rolled mine out a little bit. For some reason those folds really just don’t seem to come together sometimes. So, I always try to roll them out and make them smooth.
I have no idea how I lived so long without an offset spatula. It has been my go to tool lately. I thought a butter knife was sufficient. How have I been so naïve all this time. A butter knife is not a replacement for an offset spatula. So, if you’re like me on the fence about that, please just buy an offset spatula. It was the best tool for the job to spread the mixture on the puff pastry.
When you’ve spread a thin layer on the puff pastry, then you carefully roll it up from one to the other. I tried to pinch the seams closed, but that didn’t work so well, as you can see. Now, my trick to slice these suckers is dental floss. I’m not even kidding. It’s the best way, I’ve found, to slice pinwheels, sweet buns, and other rolled up type foods. If you haven’t used dental floss, I highly recommend trying it.
Once they’re all sliced up, you put them on silpat on a sheet pan and bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes. The puff pastry should be golden brown. The cranberry cream cheese filling is tangy and creamy and delicious. The puff pastry is buttery and crispy. It’s a deliciously simple appetizer or dessert. And you can whip them up with leftover cranberry sauce, chutney, or reconstituted dried cranberries like I did!
They’re crunchy from the puff pastry. Then there’s sweet and tart from the cranberry sauce. Finally, there’s the creaminess of the cream cheese filling. It’s a delicious bite as an appetizer for snack to nibble one. They’re great warm, but also delicious at room temperature, too.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels
Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels are super simple to make but they taste oh so delicious. With just a few ingredients, and some leftover cranberry sauce, you can have a fun and tasty appetizer.
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup cranberry relish, jelly, or chutney
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Combine the cream cheese with the egg, flour and cranberry relish and beat with a whisk until smooth.
- Open one sheet of puff pastry on your work surface.
- Use a rolling pin to smooth out the folds, if needed.
- Spread half of the cranberry mixture onto the puff pastry.
- Carefully roll up the puff pastry and pinch seams to seal.
- Using dental floss or a sharp knife, cut the puff pastry into 8 slices.
- Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry.
- Place on a silpat lined baking sheet and bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 94Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 26mgSodium 61mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 2g
Welcome to #CranberryWeek where we celebrate all things cranberry! We have 11 bloggers sharing over 25 recipes this week. There are sweets, savories, and even a few beverages this week. Make sure to follow #CranberryWeek on social media to see all the delicious recipes we’re sharing this week.
Friday’s Cranberry Recipes
- Cranberry Cheesecake Bars from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Cranberry Pecan Biscotti from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Downton Abbey Christmas Champagne Cocktail from Art of Natural Living
- Pumpkin Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies from Magical Ingredients
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad from Palatable Pastime