Cheese And Bacon Turnovers

Why To Love This Cheese and Bacon Turnovers Recipe

There are many good reasons why you should try this recipe – and hopefully, it will soon become your favourite! 😊

• The recipe is straightforward and quick – with minimum preparation, this recipe is easily done in under 30 minutes. Even a beginner cook or baker can do it!
• It is simple to scale up or down as you need – make it for an afternoon snack, packed lunch, picnic, or as a part of your party buffet – just double or triple the amount of ingredients and you’re good to go (there is a scale in the recipe card to make this super easy for you).
• This savoury dish is just delicious and perfect for hosting and entertaining – it is an appetizer and finger food that your guests (and you) won’t get enough of, trust me!
• The recipe is also budget-friendly and good for making in advance.
• Make them ‘regular’ or mini! These bacon and cheese wraps can be easily transformed into a small bite-size snack, by cutting the pastry and the bacon into smaller sizes (try cutting the puff pastry into 12, 16 or 20 squares).
• It’s versatile and creative – various fillings and shapes can give this yummy snack a different look and feel every time! Use cookie or pastry cutters to create wonderful savoury snacks suited for any occasion. For example: Christmas tree and star shapes for Christmas, envelope and heart for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, teddy bear for Christening, pumpkin shape for Halloween or Thanksgiving etc.

Key Ingredients for Cheese and Bacon Turnovers

These bacon and cheese wraps are very easy to assemble – all you need are 4 basic ingredients!

• Puff pastry – use ready-madeand pre-rolled puff pastry for a super speedy recipe. Puff pastry in a block will work too in this recipe – you will just have to roll it out by hand. Full-fat or light version of puff pastry will both work in the recipe, choose according to your dietary needs.
• Bacon is an important part of the recipe. A source of protein and the beautiful meaty flavour. Feel free to use unsmoked or smoked back bacon or streaky bacon. You can use uncooked bacon – it will cook thoroughly during the baking process. Alternatively, add surplus cooked bacon – but make sure to cover it under the cheese well (this will help stop it from drying out too much).
• Grated cheese – medium or mature cheddar, edam, or mozzarella will work in this recipe and will pair well with the bacon and flaky pastry.
• A free-range egg is brushed on top as a glaze that will help turn these turnovers into their typical beautiful golden colour.
• Optional ingredients are ketchup or tomato sauce, mustard, brown sauce and/or chutney – these can be added as a spread under the bacon, or you can serve them on side with the baked bacon wraps. The second option allows your guests to choose their favourite – but these cheese wraps with bacon taste fantastic on their own too.

For exact quantities and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Substitutes & Variations

This 4-ingredient recipe is very easy but also very flexible – see my suggestions below for recommendations on what items can be swapped:

• Use shop-bought shortcrust pastry or filo (phyllo) pastry instead of puff pastry.
• Ham, Parma ham, salami, thinly sliced sausage, kielbasa (smoked sausage) or chorizo are great swaps for bacon.
• Blue cheese or brie will work in this recipe too.

Recommended swap ratios can be found in the recipe card below this article.

How To Make Cheese and Bacon Wraps

Thanks to the ready-made puff pastry, there are only a few steps in this recipe:

1. Preheat the oven.
2. Roll out the pastry and cut it into squares or other shapes of your choice. Add sauce if using.
3. Add bacon.
4. Top with grated cheese and fold opposite corners to create a wrap.
5. Brush the pastry with a beaten egg.
6. Bake until golden and cooked through. Eat hot or cold.

For more details, please find the recipe card at the end of this post.

Top Tips

Here are some ideas on how to make this recipe work each and every time:

• Turn the oven on first. This saves you time and also guarantees the best results.
• For even results, cut the pastry in regular shapes, always think of the total number of squares and divide them appropriately (for example: 8 squares = 2x4 squares, 12 = 3x4 squares, 16 = 4x4 squares, 20 = 4x5 squares).
• Using a cookie cutter to cut out pastry? Minimise waste by folding and rolling any leftover pastry repeatedly until you use it all.
• Baking with cooked bacon (meat)? Cover the cooked bacon under a layer of grated cheese and/or under a layer of pastry – this helps prevent it from drying out too much and from burning. On the other hand, if you want it crispy, leave the cooked bacon uncovered.

Storage & Reheating

These cheese and bacon turnovers will keep fresh for up to 3 days if you store them covered in the fridge.

Refrigerated bacon wraps can be reheated in the oven at 200C/180C fan/355F for 10-15 minutes. Alternatively, pop them in a microwave for 1-2 minutes each.

You can freeze these tasty bacon and cheese wraps. There are two methods for freezing:

1. Freeze them unbaked (raw) – follow the recipe but skip steps 1 and 6. When you assemble your wraps, place them on a baking tray and put it in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Check if they turned solid and transfer them into a freezer bag or freezer-safe food container. Keep frozen for up to 3 months and bake straight from frozen at 200C/180C fan/355F for 25-30 minutes (do not defrost).
2. Freeze them baked (cooked) – follow the complete recipe. When baked, leave the wraps to cool down and place them into a freezer bag, seal and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven at 200C/180C fan/355F for 15-20 minutes.

If you are freezing these wraps with bacon and cheese, it is best not to defrost (thaw) them in the fridge – they would get soggy and wet. Reheating or baking them from frozen helps prevent that.

FAQs

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