Cream Cheese Baklava Pinwheels

Cinnamon cream cheese and cinnamon scented walnuts rolled up in flaky puff pastry and drizzled with a honey orange syrup. What’s not to love about that? These little pastries make a beautiful dessert or a lovely breakfast treat in the morning with your coffee (or tea).

The other morning I had to get up at 5 am to take my daughter to work. It was ungodly early and I knew I needed more sleep because I had a cooking class to teach that night! I told myself I’d go back to bed when I got home, but my daughter always has this incredible surge of energy before work that’s a little contagious so my brain totally woke up on the way to drop her off. I had made baklava for my Mediterranean cooking class and had a bunch of extra cinnamon scented walnuts that I was wondering what to do with. And then a brilliant idea struck me: wouldn’t baklava pinwheels be fun?

So I made a stop at our local grocery store on the way home and picked up some puff pastry and an orange (for the syrup). And as soon as I stepped into the house, I started making my nutty pinwheels. But my brain was wondering: how will they stay together? Won’t the nuts just fall out? That was when the cream cheese shouted at me from the fridge and I knew just what to do.

I made up the syrup. I mixed the cream cheese with a bit of the syrup, some cinnamon, vanilla and a bit of honey. I opened up a sheet of the puff pastry and smeared the cream cheese all over it. I sprinkled the nuts over top. I rolled it up. Some of the cream cheese oozed out. There were a bunch of nuts on the table that had fallen out as well. Some of the pinwheels were strangely shaped when I cut them, but I formed them back into a circular shape on the pan and added the extra cream cheese that had oozed out and sprinkled with the fallen nuts. I baked them and drizzled them with the lovely orange scented honey syrup.

In the end it didn’t matter that some of them were shaped funny. I was able to make them round again and they all turned out beautiful (except for the end one which was SERIOUSLY malformed, but it still tasted marvelous)! The cream cheese sort of disappeared from view, but you could still taste it. The creamy cinnamon cream cheese mixed with the cinnamon walnuts, the pastry and the honey syrup-together it was all so divine.

I took these pinwheels to cooking class with me and gave everyone TWO kinds of baklava for dessert. Stay tuned for the other recipe!

Oh, and by the way, I never did get my nap. I was SO tired by the time the cooking class was over, but it was a super fun day anyway.

Don’t have any walnuts on hand? You can substitute other nuts for the walnuts. Try pecans, pistachios or even almonds.

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Looking for more nut recipes?

Nuts are full of good fats and protein. They are so good for your health (especially your heart) and they add wonderful flavor and crunch to both sweet and savory dishes. Here’s a collection of amazing nutty recipes from me and my foodie friends.

Walnut Recipes:

• Baked Brie with Figs, Pistachios and Walnuts
• Rosemary Pear Crostini with Walnuts and Pomegranate
• Bacon Walnut Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
• Feta Walnut Spinach Salad
• Mushroom Walnut Burger – ChinDeep
• Persian Walnut Cookies – Ally’s Kitchen Bohemian Bold

Almond Recipes:

• Jeri’s Fabulous Almond Torte
• Cilantro Almond Salsa
• Maple Bacon Green Beans Almondine
• Rhubarb Almond Cake
• Spicy Smoked Almonds – An Affair from the Heart
• Mocha Rum Balls – An Affair from the Heart
• Butter Rum Almond Brittle – What’s Cookin’ Italian Cuisine
• Couscous with Cranberries and Almonds – The Black Peppercorn

Pecan Recipes:

• Jack’s Sweet Hot Party Pecans
• Berry Cherry Cream Crepes with Pecans
• Cinnamon Sugar Candied Pecans
• Basil Watermelon Salad with Chicken, Blue Cheese and Toasted Pecans
• Sugared Pecans – An Affair from the Heart
• Twice Baked Potatoes with Rosemary, Gruyere and Coffee Spiced Pecans – Dixie Chik Cooks
• 16 Creative Ways to Eat More Pecans – Foodhunter’s Guide

Peanut Recipes:

• Sugared Candied Peanuts – Cooking with Mary & Friends
• Salted Peanut Brittle – What’s Cookin’ Italian Cuisine
• Spicy West African Fried Rice with Peanuts
• Homemade Nut Goodie Candy Bars – ChinDeep
• Salted Nut Rolls in a Cake Pan – ChinDeep
• Cinnamon Rolls with Salted Caramel Nuts – Dixie Chik Cooks

Cashew Recipes:

• Spicy Cilantro Lime Pesto with Cashews
• Cashew Shrimp Cauli-Fried Rice
• Honey Sriracha Sesame Cashews
• Cashew Salmon with Apricot Cranberry Quinoa
• Seriously Awesome Black Bean & Rice Burgers (the secret ingredient is cashews!)
• Chocolate Chai Spicy Cashews – This is How I Cook
• Thai Pork & Cashew Red Curry – The Black Peppercorn

Hazelnut Recipes:

• Roast Chicken with Saffron, Hazelnuts & Honey – This is How I Cook
• Mocha Frangelico Surprise Truffles
• Double Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread