Puff pastry snails are one of the most typical treats in bakeries in Spain and Latin America. They’re named after their spiral shape: a sheet of filled puff pastry that’s rolled up and sliced before baking.
The classic filling is butter, sugar and cinnamon, but chocolate, almond cream or raisins work too. With store-bought puff pastry they’re ready in half an hour, crisp outside and tender inside.
Recipe · Sweet pastries
Puff pastry snails (caracoles de hojaldre)
- 8 ingredients
- 8 steps
Ingredients
- 1 sheet chilled puff pastry (rectangular, about 230 g)
- 30 g softened butter
- 50 g brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 30 g raisins (optional)
- 1 beaten egg, for brushing
For the glaze
- 60 g powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk or water
Step-by-step preparation
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unroll the puff pastry and spread it with the butter, leaving a 1 cm border free along one long side.
- Mix the brown sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle it over the pastry. Scatter over the raisins, if using.
- Roll the pastry up tightly, starting from the long side opposite the free border. Brush the border with a little egg to seal.
- Chill the roll for 15 minutes so it slices more easily, then cut it into slices about 2 cm thick.
- Arrange the snails on the baking sheet, spaced apart, press them down lightly with your palm and brush with beaten egg.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden and puffed.
- Mix the powdered sugar with the milk and glaze the snails while they’re still warm.
They’re at their best on the day they’re made, with a coffee or a glass of milk. Any leftovers can be stored in a tin and warmed briefly in the oven before serving.