I developed this spinach and chicken puffs recipe based on Emperor’s New Groove. My YouTube Channel subscribers asked for this recipe so enthusiastically that it was hard to avoid making it. Moreover, making pastries at home is exciting and delicious. Nothing can beat the feeling of triumph when your puffs come out freshly baked from the oven.
Now that the winter is in full force in many places, while chilly in others, it’s the perfect moment to bake some lovely delicacies like these spinach and chicken puffs.
What you need to make Kronk’s Spinach Puffs à La Cooquette
Making this recipe isn’t too difficult, although making the pastry puff takes a few hours. Besides getting a mouthwatering freshly-made pastry, it doesn’t require advanced kitchen gear.
It simply takes the following:
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Ruler
- Mixing bowl
Kronk’s spinach -and chicken- puffs story.
Kronk is a fun and charismatic character from Disney’s Emperor’s New Groove. He’s a henchman working for Yzma, the main antagonist. Kronk seems to have good intentions and superb culinary skills. He takes great care and pride in his puffs, so when Yzma insults him, the most painful for him is when she says that she never cared for them.
As a fun fact, the dubbed version in Spanish of the Emperor’s New Groove translated the spinach puffs as chicken puffs. Inspired by this curious interpretation, I decided to develop a puff recipe mixing both fillings.
Tips for making delicious puffs from scratch
Kneading puff pastry seems a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be that way. Honestly, it’s slower than getting frozen pastry, but it’s worth the effort, believe me!
Take into account the following tips so that you get a good pastry and your puffs are as delicious as they should!
- Chill the flour and the butter before starting. The layers will be crunchier if everything is cold right before putting the mix in the oven.
- Use your fingertips to mix the dough so it doesn’t warm.
- Beat the butter with a small rolling pin or anything similar to build a solid block of butter without melting it.
Kronk’s Spinach (and Chicken) puffs
Ingredients
Puffs filling
- 4 oz of cream cheese
- 2 oz of parmesan
- 2 oz of mozzarella
- ½ cup of ricotta
- 1.5 cups of shredded chicken
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- ½ onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 6 cups of fresh spinach
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Whisk everything together quickly to ensure even distribution.
- The next step is to add the ice-cold water. Stir everything together, and then use your finger points to mix the dough more thoroughly. You'll get something like a clumpy and slightly dry ball of dough. Don't worry. It's supposed to be like that.
- Then, place the dough on baking paper and spread it using a rolling pin. Here you'll aim to get a 7 x 7 inches square. As before, the dough block won't be perfectly square, but it'll have a similar shape with the approximate dimensions. Now, wrap the dough in the baking paper and stick the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Now, make a butter block using several very, very cold butter slices. To make it, put the butter slices on a baking paper or a silicone baking tray. Then, smash the butter with a small rolling pin and aim to get a 4 x 4 inches butter square. Wrap the butter block in baking paper and stick it in the fridge.
- In the meantime, start making the puff filling.
- Heat oil on a pan and sauteé the diced onions and garlic cloves until they're translucid. Then, add spinach and cook for two minutes.
- Now, put together all the ingredients for the filling. In a bowl, mix cream cheese and ricotta using a fork. Then, add parmesan and mozzarella, and integrate them into the cheesy mixture. Add shredded chicken, sauteeSpinachch, and one egg, and mix well—season with freshly ground pepper and voilá. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge.
- Flour a clean surface and unwrap the dough on it. Stretch it slightly using a rolling pin, aiming to keep the squared shape. In the center, place the butter block and wrap it with dough. Cover well and press the dough to don't leave any air between the dough and the butter.
- Remove the flour excess and spread using a rolling pin. Stretch both vertically and horizontally. It will help to achieve a more compact pastry dough. As a result, you should get a 12 x 6 inches rectangle.
- Fold the dough into thirds, and stretch using a rolling pin until you get a 12 x 6 inches rectangle again. Then, wrap it in plastic and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and repeat the folding and stretching process twice until you get the 12 x 6 rectangle again. Then, stick in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
- Repeat the folding and stretching process one more time. It might seem a bit tedious, but following these steps will get you all that delicious and beautiful pastry layers.
- Stretch the dough until you get a thin layer. Cut the borders to get a rectangle, and divide it into six squares.
- In the center, add a couple of tablespoons of the filling. Then, brush the borders with egg wash and close the puffs, leaving one side open. Now, stick the puffs in the fridge for 10 minutes before putting them in the oven.
- Take the puffs out of the fridge and brush them with egg wash. Then, bake them at 400 °F (200 °C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Still, keep an eye on the puffs. You should wait until they're golden.
- Now, let them cool a bit and enjoy as warm as you like. The freshly baked pastry is such a beautiful thing.
- Take the puffs out of the fridge and brush them with egg wash. Then, bake them at 400 °F (200 °C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Still, keep an eye on the puffs. You should wait until they're golden.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
If you liked this spinach and chicken puffs recipe, you might like some of my other recipes too.
And remember, if you try this recipe and want to share your pictures, tag me @lacooquette on Instagram. I’d love to share your photos on my IG stories.
A delicious spinach puff recipe with complimentary chicken filling. An easy meal idea for dinner or lunch that the whole family will love to eat.
Leave a Reply