Chicharrones de Guayaba are very easy to make at home and the perfect treat during the week or for a party.
What are Chicharrones de Guayaba?
For those that are not familiar, Chicharrones de Guayaba are a traditional and popular Colombian sweet pastry.
They are flaky and buttery layers of puff pastry with a soft, sweet and delicious guava filling shaped in the form of a chicharrón.
Ingredients You'll Need
The printable recipe card with exact amounts and cooking directions is below.
Puff Pastry: I use store bought puff pastry to make this recipe, but feel free to make your own if you prefer.
Guava Paste: You can find guava paste also known as bocadillo at your local supermarket in the Latin section.
Egg: To brush the pastries to give a beautiful golden color.
Sugar: I like the extra crunch of sugar on top of these pastries.
This is a very simple dessert with simple ingredients and easy to make at home, but you can also find them in panaderías (bakeries), pastry shops, school cafeterías and cafés in Colombia. The name chicharrones comes from the form of the pastries because they look like our popular salty and fried pork belly called chicharrón.
How to Make Chicharrones de Guayaba
- Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Unfold 1 of the thawed puff pastry sheets on top of the flour.
- Sprinkle some flour on the pastry. Using a rolling pin, and beginning at the center of the pastry, roll out to the far side. Then roll from the center toward you. After every few rolls, give the pastry a quarter turn and sprinkle the top and bottom of the pastry with more of the flour so the pastry does not stick. Keep rolling and sprinkling until the pastry is a large rectangle. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.
- Put slices of guava paste on each piece of puff pastry. Brush the beaten egg along 2 edges of each piece with a pastry brush. Fold one half of each piece over the filling, enclosing it fully. Press the edges together with your fingers to seal them. With a knife make small cuts along the edges to make the chicharrón legs.
- Place the chicharrones on a prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry sheet and guava paste.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the chicharrones with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until they are puffed and golden.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set on a cooling rack to cool for about 5 minutes
Cooking Notes
I used store bought puff pastry to make my Chicharrones Dulces. I always have a box or two of this dough in my freezer. It's a simple matter of taking out a sheet, letting it thaw, and making pastries or pasteles for a quick craving.
Be sure to check your pastries, because every oven is different and you don't want to burn them.
You can store the cooked pastries in a sealed container up to 3 days or place uncooked in the freezer up to 1 month and bake them when ready to serve.
As a good Colombian girl, I’ve been enjoying Chicharrones de Guayaba for a long time. They are the perfect dessert or afternoon snack with a hot cup of black coffee or a glass of milk. They are perfect for Thanksgiving! They’re like pie, but easier, and super cute because everything in small form is always very cute 🙂
More Desserts to Try
Bananos Calados (Fried Bananas)
Milhojas de Arequipe ( Dulce de Leche Pastries)
Pastel Gloria ( Dulce de Leche, Cheese and Guava Pastry)
Pionono de Arequipe (Dulce de Leche Cake Roll)
Chicharrones de Guayaba (Guava Paste Pastry) Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sheets 1 pound of frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 12 slices of guava paste bocadillo
- 1 beaten egg
- Sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Unfold 1 of the thawed puff pastry sheets on top of the flour.
- Sprinkle some flour on the pastry. Using a rolling pin, and beginning at the center of the pastry, roll out to the far side. Then roll from the center toward you. After every few rolls, give the pastry a quarter turn and sprinkle the top and bottom of the pastry with more of the flour so the pastry does not stick. Keep rolling and sprinkling until the pastry is a large rectangle. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.
- Put slices of guava paste on each piece of puff pastry. Brush the beaten egg along 2 edges of each piece with a pastry brush. Fold one half of each piece over the filling, enclosing it fully. Press the edges together with your fingers to seal them. With a knife make small cuts along the edges to make the chicharrón legs.
- Place the chicharrones on a prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry sheet and guava paste.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the chicharrones with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until they are puffed and golden.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set on a cooling rack to cool for about 5 minutes.
Alan Bowman
Buenas tardes Erica de España
Whenever we get the shop made puff/flaky pastry (hojaldre, here) it is always 'ready rolled' but is too dry to open out nicely and makes life difficult. Which reminds me that I have to make some sausage rolls and bacon and cheese rolls ready for our villancicos (Christmas Carols) evening on 23rd December when all the neighbours come round and we have a pleasant evening singing carols (No, we don't do Ben Ben Ben). Music, this year will be from one of the nuns who plays the guitar and anyone who wants to help with the percussion (spoons, rubbing the aguardiente bottle, etc.) joins in.
Vicki
What is the oven temperature?
Erica Dinho
400F.