If you’re the type of host who loves to wow a crowd, then you need to check out the recipe for Ree Drummond‘s Puff Pastry Braid. It’s a dessert that looks like you’ve spent all day making it, but your secret is that it only actually took you a few minutes to throw together using store-bought ingredients, including puff pastry dough and chocolate hazelnut spread.
“Truly one of the easiest desserts with the best result,” Drummond said of her Puff Pastry Braid in a clip from her Food Network show The Pioneer Woman. “If you pull this out of the oven and you have guests over, they won’t believe how easy it is to make.”
You start by laying out a sheet of premade puff pastry dough, which you can buy in the freezer section at your local grocery store. Down the center of the thawed dough, add a generous scoop of chocolate hazelnut spread and use the back of a spoon to spread it over the center section of the dough, leaving a slight lip at the top and bottom. Sprinkle chopped peanuts, almonds, pecans, or any other topping you like on top of the spread.
On the two bare sections of puff pastry dough, slice an even number of sections radiating from the center outward (these sections will become the braid). Then, fold the top and bottom lip of the center section of the dough, and then braid your cut sections over the center, overlapping one strand over the other until you reach the end.
Coat the puff pastry with a beaten egg to help it get a glossy coating once baked, and sprinkle a bit of sea salt over top before popping it into the oven.
Once the braid is puffed, baked, and cooled, you can top it with Drummond’s delicious glaze, which consists of powdered sugar whisked with vanilla extract and milk. Once everything is combined, drizzle the glaze over the braid before cutting and serving.
There are so many ways to customize this dessert. Drummond suggests swapping out the chocolate hazelnut spread with premade pie filling or fruit tossed with sugar and cornstarch for a fruity, sweet dessert. Or, you can do melted butter with cinnamon sugar and pumpkin pie spices for an autumn-flavored treat.
Grab the full recipe here and add this sweet treat to your repertoire. Your guests won’t believe just how simple and easy this dessert is to make — shh! We won’t tell them, either!
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