These French Onion and Portobello Mushroom Pinwheels are a little holiday treat and they were the perfect appetizer for my tree decorating party.
I call them French Onion just for the fact that they taste exactly like French Onion Soup wrapped in beautiful, yummy puff pasty. The mushrooms add an extra savory dimension that works perfect with the flavor of French Onion.
They’re so easy to prepare and the ingredients are easily interchangeable. Play around with your favorite flavors with this recipe. Caramelized onions pair well with anything really. Sauteed spinach would work really well here. I was thinking roasted butternut squash and sage would be delicious and festive as well.
Bonus Tip: Make extras and freeze unbaked pinwheels for tasty treats anytime. Just freeze on a baking sheet until firm, tightly wrap in plastic wrap and place in a ziploc freezer bag. When ready to bake just pop into the oven straight from the freezer, no need to thaw. Just add a few more minutes to the baking time.
French Onion and Portobello Mushroom Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 1 package {2 sheets} Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed {I used Pepperidge Farm.}
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 1 large Sweet Onion, thinly sliced
- 1 {8 ounce} package Baby Bella Mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons Cognac {I used Hennessey.}
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Thyme Leaves, chopped
- 1 bunch Parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup White Cheddar Cheese, grated
- 1 cup Gruyere Cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
- 1 whole Egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon Water
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare two sheet pans. Place a piece of parchment paper on each sheet pan. Set aside.
- Step 2 In a medium skillet heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the sliced onions to the pan and season with salt to help bring out the sugars in the onions to caramelize. Stir over medium heat until edges of the onion are turning golden. Caramelizing onions takes a good 20 minutes, stir until onions are golden brown. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender and browned, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3 Deglaze the pan with 2 tablespoons of cognac and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and thyme stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat off and remove pan to cool slightly. Toss in chopped parsley to the onions and mushrooms.
- Step 4 Combine grated cheeses in a separate bowl. Lay 1 sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface and carefully roll it out to 10 by 12 inches. Make sure to keep your puff pastry chilled before using. It’s much easier to handle if you store in the fridge until you need it.
- Step 5 Whisk together the egg and tablespoon of water. Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash.
- Step 6 Add a layer of onions and mushrooms on the bottom, leave a 1/2 inch border on all sides. Top with grated cheeses. Roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into 8 – 12 (1/2-inch) slices with a sharp slicing knife.
- Step 7 {Repeat the process with the other pastry sheet.}
- Step 8 Carefully place the round slices on two baking sheets. Pat down slightly to flatten and shape. Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the pinwheels are golden brown.
- Step 9 Allow to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Prepare two sheet pans. Place a piece of parchment paper on each sheet pan. Set aside.
In a medium skillet heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the sliced onions to the pan and season with salt to help bring out the sugars in the onions to caramelize. Stir over medium heat until edges of the onion are turning golden.
Caramelizing onions takes a good 20 minutes, but if you want to speed up the process I like adding a tablespoon of brown sugar or honey at this point. You won’t believe how fast it caramelizes. Stir until onions are golden.
Add the mushrooms and cook until tender and browned, about 5 minutes.
Deglaze the pan with 2 tablespoons of cognac and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add the garlic and thyme stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.
Turn heat off and remove pan to cool slightly.
Toss in chopped parsley to the onions and mushrooms.
Combine grated cheeses in a separate bowl.
Lay 1 sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface and carefully roll it out to 10 by 12 inches.
Pull your frozen puff pastry out of the freezer 40 minutes before using. Let it come to room temperature for easy handling.
Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash.
Add a layer of onions and mushrooms on the bottom, leave a 1/2 inch border on all sides.
Top with grated cheeses.
Roll up like a jelly roll.
Cut into 8 – 12 (1/2-inch) slices with a sharp slicing knife.
{Repeat the process with the other pastry sheet.}
Carefully place the round slices on two baking sheets. Pat down slightly to flatten and shape.
Whisk together the egg and tablespoon of water. Brush the tops with egg wash.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the pinwheels are golden brown.
Allow to cool slightly before serving.
“Christmas doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more….”
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Happy Holidays my foodie friends!
Yum! on my way to the kitchen to make these right now! Thanks for sharing.
These are definitely on my “To Do” list! But, can you give me some advice on cognac…I have never bought any nor had any. Is there a particular brand or other feature I should look for?
Absolutely! I just go for the Hennessey brand when cooking with it. You can always sub the cognac out for red wine, white wine or beef stock. The point is just to deglaze the pan and enhance the flavor. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions!
What does 1 package of mushrooms mean? Seriously? Need a size please.
Hi Donna,
I look for the 8 ounce prepackaged mushrooms in my produce section of the grocery store. It’s about 10-12 whole baby bella mushrooms. Hope this helps! Cheers!
These look absolutely yummy! I came across your recipe looking for puff pastry inspiration :) have you tried the (new in my market) Wewalka refrigerated puff pastry? …already rolled on parchment paper! I love it. will try these soon :) Enjoy your day!
Hi Barbara! I will definitely have to look for it, I typically use Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheets. Cheers!
I absolutely adore Wewalka!!! Much fluffier than Pepperidge Farms and comes in its own parchment!! Their pizza dough is awesome too!!
Hello!
I love boozy recipes and was hoping to make these as an appetizer on Thanksgiving! Any chance you could give me a more exact measurement on the parsley? The typical bunches at my grocery store are very large, I think adding the whole thing might be too much (I know you don’t use the stems- the bunches are truly massive). I also saw your comment about using a white wine instead and was just curious if you had tried it yourself or if using cognac was your favorite method?
Thanks!
Hi Alyshia,
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley should do it, and I have tried it with white wine and much prefer cognac! It gives a deeper richer flavor. Cheers and Enjoy!
OMG!!! These were amazing. Amazing that the mushroom mix ever made it to the pastry it was sooooooo good. Used sweet Sherry instead of cognac and used havarti and parm as I had no decent cheddar. substituted fresh cilantro as I had no other fresh herbs. FANTASTIC!!!!!
Hi Deb! I’m so glad you enjoyed, this is one of my favorites! Cheers!
Can they be frozen? Or made a day ahead?
These are insanely delicious! I made them as a Thanksgiving appetizer and they will be making another appearance at the holiday party I’m hosting this weekend. Great flavors and so easy to make.
If I don’t have cognac on hand, is there a substitute you recommend?
Hi! These are delicious, made them yesterday. I’d like to make them again for a party and wondering if I can make them ahead of time, roll them up into the log, and store the logs in the fridge for a few hours until I’m ready to slice and bake them. Do you think this would work?