While these flaky Finnish pastries are most often baked for Christmas, joulutorttu are great for breakfast or brunch any time of the year! To make these treats, just follow our simple instructions for an easy pastry dough and top them with your favorite jam!
I grew up just a few hours drive from the Finnish border. When I was a child, probably seven or eight years old, my parents would often go to a ski resort there and take me with them. Not interested in skiing, instead I would spend a few days outside enjoying the snow. And every so often when it would get too cold, I would retreat to the cafe to warm up with a cup of hot cocoa and one of their delicious local pastries.
Although I no longer live close to Finland, I can still experience the same cozy feeling thanks to this recipe for Finnish Christmas pastries – joulutorttu. Traditionally, this type of pastry is baked with prune jam and comes in a few different forms. This time around, I decided to use raspberry jam and make the pastries into the shape of a pinwheel.
If you are using store-bought puff pastry you can make this recipe in 30 minutes. I had enough time to make my own puff pastry so I borrowed a trusted dough recipe from Brittney. The most important part is to not let the butter melt. To achieve this, you can chill the dough in the fridge between steps.
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Joulutorttu – Finnish Christmas Pastry
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Finnish
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter, cold
- 2 ½ cups (315 grams) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) cold water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
Assembly and Baking
- all purpose flour for working surface
- 10 ounces (280 grams) jam
- 1 large egg for egg wash (optional)
- powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
Dough*
- Grate the butter or cut it into small pieces. Put it in the freezer.
- Mix flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.
- Begin working the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or a pair of forks, but do not incorporate entirely. The dough should still have flecks of butter in it.
- Add the vinegar and half of the water. Begin mixing the dough. Gradually add the rest of the water.
- Once the dough has formed, shape it into a disc. Dust your working surface with flour and roll out the dough away from you until it is about 4 mm (⅛ inch) thick.
- Fold the dough into thirds (like a letter). To do this, fold the top third of the dough over the center and then fold the bottom third over the center. Turn the dough 90 degrees, roll out again and repeat the folds.
- Cut the dough in half, wrap it in plastic and let chill for 30 minutes.
Assembly and Baking
- Heat the oven to 220 C (450 F).
- Roll one half of the dough into a rectangle 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inches). Cut into six squares.
- Diagonally cut the corners of each square towards the center, leaving enough space in the middle to place the jam.
- Add 1.5-2 tablespoons jam to the center of each square.
- Fold one corner from each cut piece towards the center of the square. Pierce with a toothpick to hold it in place.
- Repeat with the second half of the dough.
- Brush with egg wash (optional) and bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Notes
Dough: The most important part when making the dough is to not let the butter melt. To achieve this, you can chill the dough in the fridge between steps.