95 cheese pastry recipes

Buttery cream cheese pastry cups cradle gooey brown sugar pecan filling in these bite-sized Southern tarts, baked with a two-stage method for extra flaky crusts.

Whole wheat cream cheese pastry gives these mini pecan tarts a nutty edge, while vanilla-spiked filling adds aromatic warmth to the classic brown sugar and pecan combo.

Rugelach four ways: a single cream cheese pastry dough turned into raspberry-almond crescents, layered chocolate-pecan squares, apricot pockets and honey-pecan triangles. Holiday cookie tray showstopper.

Layered pumpkin walnut pie hides a buttery brown-sugar walnut praline beneath a creamy, cream-cheese-rich pumpkin custard in a shortbread crust, crowned with baked pastry leaves. A Thanksgiving showpiece.

Pineapple-apricot empanaditas: flaky cream cheese pastry folded around a fresh pineapple-apricot jam spiked with Triple Sec, baked golden and sugar-dusted. Sweet little hand pies for any party.

Cream cheese rugelach filled with cinnamon sugar, walnuts, and raisins rolled into flaky crescent pastries. A classic Jewish bakery cookie with a tender, buttery dough.

Six classic Eastern European pastry fillings: cheese with cognac raisins, prune walnut, poppy seed, ground nut, orange marmalade, and raw apple. Traditional recipes for strudel, kolache, and more.

Mini brownie cups with a cream cheese pastry shell filled with melted semi-sweet chocolate and chopped walnuts. Bite-sized treats baked in mini muffin tins that combine fudgy brownie with a buttery crust.

Miniature cream cheese tassies filled with apricot fruit filling, nuts, and vanilla in a buttery pastry cup. Bite-sized holiday cookies baked in mini muffin tins.

Old-world Czech kolachky yeast dough rolled in powdered sugar, filled with jam or cheese, and baked into delicate folded pastries. The classic Slavic holiday cookie.

Flaky puff pastry shells filled with orange-scented cream cheese whipped cream and topped with cherry pie filling. A dinner party dessert that looks dressed up but takes 30 minutes.

Russian pastries (pirozhki) with a tender cream cheese dough wrapped around savory ground beef, sour cream, dill, and chopped egg. Make-ahead friendly and freezer-stable for up to a month.

High-fiber bread quiche uses stale multigrain bread as the crust, filled with low-fat cottage cheese, eggs, and evaporated skim milk. A lighter take on classic quiche with no pastry dough required.

Flaky crescent roll pastries stuffed with a sweet cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon filling. Just 5 ingredients, 25 minutes, and 16 golden little bites that vanish the moment they hit the plate.

The low-calorie rice pudding flan is so delicious by itself that you may want to save the calories and fat in the crust, and serve it without the pastry.