Chocolate Pastries

I first made these delightful little things a little over two years ago, and they have been a go-to dessert since then. They are so easy to make, and they taste amazing. And they're not something people typically make for dessert, at least not in my opinion, so it's fun to make them.

These are simply puff pastry filled with chocolate ganache. The ganache will set up slightly as it cools, making the pastry easier to eat than if the ganache is still liquid. I can never help but eat one as soon as it's filled, though, so I always make a mess with at least one pastry. Haha. These are also easily portable. They're pretty sturdy little things, so they're great to take to get-togethers. Alright, enough teasing. Here's the scoop.

Ingredients:
-Frozen puff pastry sheets (one sheet will make 16 pastries)
-1/2 cup heavy cream (per puff pastry sheet)
-3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (per puff pastry sheet)

Directions:
Thaw the puff pastry sheet according to package directions.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

When the pastry is thawed, lay it out on a piece of wax paper.

Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the sheet into sixteen pieces, equal in size as much as possible.

Place each pieces of pastry dough into a mini-muffin tin cup, making sure it touches the bottom of the cup and doesn't rip anywhere.

The pastry will give slightly, just be gentle. When you have all your pastry in the tin, bake the pastry until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.

I use my little melon-baller to hollow out the inside of the cups again, since the pastry puffs up into the middle.

You need some space for the ganache to go. Make you sure you don't puncture it anywhere, though, or the ganache will seep out. Set aside the pastry after you've done that while you make the ganache.

While the pastry is cooling, heat the 1/2 cup of cream in a small sauce pan over medium/medium low heat.

You don't want it to get too hot. My stove has heat settings up to 10, and I set it on 3 or 4 for this. When the cream is warm, add the chocolate chips and stir until the chocolate is melted into the cream.

It should be relatively thick, but it should still be "pourable."

Spoon a little of the ganache into each pastry shell.

I fill the pastry cavity up until the ganache would start to "overflow," then I stop.

At this point, the pastries are done. You can remove them from the muffin tin onto a serving platter or what-have-you. I usually let them sit for a little while as mentioned earlier, so the ganache can set up, but it's not entirely necessary. Enjoy!