Pineapple Quesitos - Puerto Rican Cheese Puff Pastry

Pineapple Quesitos is a Puerto Rican cheese Puff Pastry that is very simple to make and takes less than 30 minutes. It is made with puff pastry sheets, mildly sweetened cream cheese, and sometimes fruits.

Quesitos is a Puerto Rican cheese Puff Pastry which can be found in every bakery in the region. It is a very simple recipe made with puff pastry sheets, mildly sweetened cream cheese, and sometimes fruits added to them.

Pineapple Quesitos in a Plate

They are amazingly easy to make with just a few ingredients, and I find the store-bought puff pastry sheets a big blessing.

I saw that Guava paste and cream cheese-filled quesitos are quite popular in the region, and that is when I read that we can use any tropical fruit that can hold up to baking. Pineapples are something my kids love,e and I always have Dole pineapples in hand.

These Pineapple Quesitos are the best recipe to use fresh pineapples, if you have or you could use the pineapple chunks in cans like I did. One of the favorite fruits to take as a snack to school is pineapples in my house and it is not possible to have fresh pineapples available all the time.

Recently, I have started buying the Dole 4-pack pineapple chunks in their own juice that comes in cute little plastic jars at Sam's club. This way I always have the boys' favorite fruit available for them to enjoy.

Pineapple Quesitos in a plate

I further chopped the fruit into smaller pieces and sautéed them in butter and brown sugar to give it a caramelized flavor. The fruits went on top of the mildly sweetened cream cheese and then baked until the pastries were golden brown.

The Quesitos are mildly sweet, and if preferred can be dusted with some powdered sugar before serving. I had made this right before the boys came home from school, and they really enjoyed it as an after-school snack.

My youngest thought that I had apples inside the Quesitos and that gave me an idea to try that next time. When using apples, I might use a little bit more spice to give it an apple pie flavor.

My other bakes in the A-Z Baking around the World Marathon - 

A for Almond cookies from China

B for Bretzel Rolls from Germany

C for Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from USA

D for Danish Cookies from Denmark

E for Empanada from Argentina

F for Franzbrötchen from Germany

G for Grissini from Italy

H for Hot Cross Buns from England

I for Irish Freckle Bread from Ireland

J for Jan Hagel Cookies from Netherlands

K for Kiffles / Kiflis from Hungary

L for Lagana Bread from Greece

M for Monkey Bread from USA

N for Nazook / Nazouk from Armenia

O for Obi Non from Uzbekistan

P for Peyniril Poğaça from Turkey

Preparation time - 10 minutes
Baking time - 15 to 18 minutes
Difficulty level - easy
Recipe adapted from Zoe bakes

Pineapple Quesitos 3 rolls in a plate

Ingredients to make Pineapple Quesitos - Makes 9

  • Puff pastry sheet - 1 sheet (thawed)
  • Pineapple - 1 cup (chopped or sliced)
  • Brown sugar - 2 tbsp
  • Butter - 1 tbsp
  • Cream cheese - ½ cup (4 Oz, softened and at room temperature)
  • Sugar - 2 tablespoon + 2 tbsp
  • Vanilla extract - ½ tsp
  • Cream/milk - for brushing the pastry
  • Powdered sugar - to dust over the pastry

Procedure -

  • Thaw the puff pastry sheet according to the package directions. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a pan, add the butter and let it melt. Add the chopped/sliced pineapples along with the brown sugar and let it simmer until the juices evaporate and the fruit mixture thickens and caramelizes a little. Let it cool down to room temperature.
Add the ingredients in a pan let it simmer
  • In a bowl, whisk the cream cheese, 2 tablespoon of sugar, and the vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
  • Roll the puff pastry sheet to about a 12 x 12 square and cut the sheet into 9 squares, each measuring about 4 inches.
Roll the puff pastry sheet
  • Place about 2 teaspoon of cream cheese filling in the middle of the square and then place a few pineapple pieces on top.
  • Fold one corner over the filling and press down to seal. Now fold the other corner over this one and pinch the edge to seal. Also tuck the sharp edges under itself so they puff up and keep the fillings inside.
Fold, fill & seal the roll
  • Place the prepared pastries on the baking sheet and repeat the same with the rest.
  • Brush the pastries with cream/milk mixture and sprinkle some sugar over them.
Place the prepared pastries on the baking sheet
  • Bake the Pineapple Quesitos for 15 to 18 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the pastries are all puffed up.
  • Remove the Pineapple Quesitos from the oven and let them cool.
  • Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Pineapple Quesitos  pastries in a bowl

More Recipes With Puff Pastry Sheet

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter/X

Recipe

Pineapple Quesitos in a white plate - Feature Image

Pineapple Quesitos - Puerto Rican Cheese Puff Pastry

Pineapple Quesitos is a Puerto Rican Cheese Puff Pastry that is very simple to make and takes less than 30 minutes. It is made with puff pastry sheets, mildly sweetened cream cheese and sometimes fruits.
5 from 57 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Baking, Breakfast, Dessert, Pastries
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Servings: 9 Quesitos
Calories: 245kcal

Equipment

  • bowl
  • pan
  • Oven

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet Puff pastry sheet Thawed
  • 1 cup Pineapple Chopped or sliced
  • 2 tablespoon Brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Butter
  • ½ cup Cream cheese 4 Oz, softened and at room temperature
  • 4 tablespoon Sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • Cream / milk For brushing the pastry
  • Powdered sugar For brushing the pastry

Instructions

  • Thaw the puff pastry sheet according to the package directions. Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a pan, add the butter and let it melt. Add the chopped/sliced pineapples along with the brown sugar and let it simmer until the juices evaporate and the fruit mixture thickens and caramelizes a little. Let it cool down to room temperature.
  • In a bowl, whisk the cream cheese, 2 tablespoon of sugar and the vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
  • Roll the puff pastry sheet to about a 12 x 12 square and cut the sheet into 9 squares, each measuring about 4 inches.
  • Place about 2 teaspoon of cream cheese filling in the middle of the square and then place few pineapple pieces on top.
  • Fold one corner over the filling and press down to seal. Now fold the other corner over this one and pinch the edge to seal. Also tuck the sharp edges under itself so they puff up and keep the fillings inside.
  • Place the prepared pastries on the baking sheet and repeat the same with the rest.
  • Brush the pastries with cream/milk mixture and sprinkle some sugar over them.
  • Bake the Pineapple Quesitos for 15 to 18 minutes or until the top is golden brown and pastries are all puffed up.
  • Remove the Pineapple Quesitos from the oven and let them cool.
  • Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Notes

You can pin the recipe below to save it for later -
 

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 58mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 219IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!

41 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Our family loves these Puerto Rico Cheese Puff Pastries (Pineapple Quesitos). The are lovely to admire, elegant to create and delicious to eat.

  2. 5 stars
    These turned out wonderful! I just loved the sweet pineapple with the flaky puff pastry. We gobbled them up quickly.

  3. 5 stars
    I made these pineapple quesitos today So easy and so delicious. I love the caramelized pineapple. I'd like to try them with apples too!

  4. 5 stars
    These are just too cute! I love that you sauteed the pineapple, so caramelized and I imagine so full of flavor! This is a dessert or snack keeper for sure! So happy you shared this cultural treat!

  5. 5 stars
    Wow! A new favorite! I had never made these before but will again and again. Thanks for sharing this tasty treat x

  6. Pingback: 25 Of The Most AMAZING Quesitos Recipes - Eat Wine Blog
  7. Girl, this looks AMAZING! I love a good puff pastry! This has my name written all over it! Can't wait to try!

  8. Great way to start the day, that's for sure. And judging from your instructions, it is quite an easy recipe to pull off, so I am really keen to try it out!

  9. These sound so delicious! I just love pineapple, and I know my kiddos would love these. We have traveled to Puerto Rico a bit, and I remember these from the bakeries!

  10. I think I shall be off to the shops tomorrow to buy myself some puff pastry. These look delicious and just the sort of thing that everyone will love.

  11. Oh my goodnesss, you've hit me hard with this recipe - pastry and pineapple two of the most irresistible things. I do have a weakness for pastry so bring this on! I have to make this super quick - kids will be delighted to help with making it too. Thank you for sharing!

  12. Awesome clicks and the Quesitos are so tempting and delicious..

  13. OMG Sandhya, this is really such a fantastic choice!..wish we get puff pastry sheets here..

  14. I too love dole pineapple chunks. For my upside down cake, I used dole pineapple slices only. This quesito is really great. I love pineapples. So obviously I got to try this. 🙂 Bookmarked.

  15. Carmelized pineapple... yum! Drooling here.. with creme cheese that's a fantastic combination! Very nice bake.

  16. Omg ! Sandhya , kudos on the recipe choice . I was drooling while reading the intro , pineapple being caramelised ! Seriously I had to quickly scroll down to see the recipe . Fantastic one !

  17. Cant wait to bake these quesitos, and pineapple quesitos tempts me a lot, so flaky and dangerously addictive.

5 from 57 votes (42 ratings without comment)

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