Last updated on January 11th, 2015
WHAT’S ELEGANT TO SERVE and oh-so scrumptious to eat? Eggs, baked in puff pastry shells, and adorned with bits of cheese, chives, and bacon. I love them for breakfast, brunch, or as the first-course for dinner. They are a cinch to make.
Eggs in Puff Pastry Shells
My vastly-improved version of a recipe by Pepperidge Farm
Ingredients for 6 servings
1 package frozen puff pastry shells, thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
6 large eggs
2 Tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh chives
To start, lay out the thawed but still quite cold pastry shells on a buttered (or vegetable-sprayed) baking sheet, as pictured above.
Bake the shells at 400 degrees until they are puffed and golden — 20 minutes. Do not overbake, because these babies will be heading back to the oven shortly.
With eggs in tow.
Using a fork, remove the pastry tops, as shown.
Eat the tops.
Then break an egg into each shell.
Warning! If some of your pastries are lopsided, the whites of the egg will pour over the side of the shell. And then you’ll curse me for suggesting this recipe to you.
But here’s a tip: You can level out your shells, just as I did in the picture above, by tucking a piece of folded foil underneath. This will give the egg a level surface on which to rest.
All’s well that ends well, yes?
Bake the eggs (again, at 400 degrees) until their whites are set but their yolks are still pleasantly soft — about 20 minutes. If you like slightly-firmer yolks, bake for an additional minute or two.
And if you like your eggs well-done, my advice is to avoid this dish.
But I don’t want you to avoid this dish. Because that would upset me to no end.
While the eggs bake, cook the bacon until crisp, and then break it up. I use only the meaty part of each strip, and discard the fat.
Now finely chop your chives…
And shred your Cheddar cheese. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the cheese-shredding step.
The eggs are ready now. Let them cool on the tray for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the foil “shims” if you used them.
Now for the decorating fun…
First, plate the eggs.
Then lay on a little Cheddar cheese.
And here’s (yet another) tip: Limit your adornments to the white part of the egg. This way, the yolk can have center stage.
Next, place bits of bacon atop the cheese.
And finally, give the egg a dusting of chives. Let some of the chives land capriciously on the plate, and the dish will look lavish indeed.
And prepare to fall in love with these eggs, just as I did. When your fork meets this sumptuousness, the puff pastry will crackle and pop…the yolk will unleash a river of gold…and the garnish will make your taste buds do a tango.
In the comments field below, let me know if you might try these Eggs in Puff Pastry Shells. As always, I love to hear from you.
Here’s a copy-and-paste version of the above:
Eggs in Puff Pastry Shells
My vastly-improved version of a recipe by Pepperidge Farm
Ingredients for 6 servings
1 package frozen puff pastry shells, thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
6 large eggs
2 Tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh chivesPreheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lay the thawed pastry shells on a buttered or vegetable-sprayed baking sheet. Bake until puffed and golden — 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, and then remove the tops. Crack one egg into each shell. If shells are lopsided, level out with a “shim” of folded (and buttered or sprayed) aluminum foil, as pictured above. Bake at 400 degrees until the whites are set but the yolks are still soft — 15-20 minutes. Garnish each egg with a tiny amount of cheese, bacon, and chives. Serve at once.
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Debby says
That looks amazing…
Paula says
I have to suggest one correction on the list of ingredients: (6) farm fresh wonderful eggs… delivered by your lovely hens within the past few days. Yolks nearly orange with grass infused beta carotene!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Paula – Yes — the yolks of fresh, local, cage-free hens are…beautiful!
Erin Brady says
Looks delicious! This is definetly on my to-do list.
Sue Wein says
Cannot wait to get to the market tomorrow…yum
Kim says
Think this will be dinner tonight!!!!
Lisa B says
Perfect!
I can’t wait to try these.
JaneM says
My sister in law, the family’s best chef, is visiting next weekend, I’m going to dazzle her with these! Thanks!
Arlene Bice says
will definitely make this for a leisure Sunday breakfast. thank you for all your great recipe ideas.
Cynna says
Ummmm….delicious looking! I think they’d also be divine with smoked salmon, a dollop of hollandaise, and a bit of caviar. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Patricia says
These sound scrumptious and so elegant to serve to house guests, Easy too.,
Patty says
You had me at “river of gold” ….note to self…..must try, must try, must try! Thx! 🙂
Bonnie Morgan says
Love love love this but then I love all your recipes ! thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us !!
Carolyn Contois says
Thanks for another life saving recipe!! Hey, you and Ina are neck and neck! How about a cookbook?
Tina Knowlton says
Will definitely make these very soon: they are worth waking up early for! And, yes…a cookbook from you would be terrific!
leora dennis says
They are beautiful
Glenn says
These look stunning- can’t wait to try them.
Have you ever made DownEast Lobster.
Or how about goat cheese and panke bread crumbs on a salad with truffel oil OMG Good
Antoniette says
Excellent recipe idea Kevin! Perfect for those times you need breakfast for a crowd and don’t want to stand over the stove all morning. I can picture some fresh fruit, warm from the oven muffins, and these eggs! thank you thank you thank you!
Carol says
Oh my!! Everything triple ditto to everyones comments. New on your site and have not regreted the time spent with you! Always looking for new ways to enjoy my hens fresh range free eggs! Also would like to see more recipes you can convert to cooking outside on the trail like these egg stuffed puffed pastry delights!! My guys will love these!! Thanks so much!!!
geraldine says
I love this idea but is htat a lot of baking time to complete for puff pastry!!
Donna B. says
Kevin, you evil temptress, you. =D
I make this recipe that involves caramelizing onions, and then adding them to a ramekin – with bacon, saute of mushrooms, cheese and an egg cracked on top w/ chives to garnish…
This recipe brought me back to that. But with puff pastry. Puff. Pastry. ♥
[ohhhh my lordy I need to break my diet one of these days…]
Sean says
You always hit a home run with your recipes in all areas – presentation, ease of preparation and taste. These look fabulous and I am going to give them a go this weekend!
Naomi Shelton says
Oh, yum. These look so good. I love eggs, especially when the yolk is soft and runny. Sadly, I probably won’t make these as the boughten puff pastries are made of wheat flour which is not gluten-free. I will have to research a bit to see if there is another alternative for the pastries. (The other alternative is to make them with the wheat pastries, enjoy them immensely and suffer later!)
Arthur in the Garden! says
These are so cute! I love them!
Brenda Johnson says
A fantastic brunch indeed!!! The crisp flaky layers of the puff pastry paired with the rich velvety egg yolk is a winning combination on its own. Topped with the additional flavors and textures of bacon and cheese (really-what isn’t better with these things?) and the fresh chives…. well what’s not to love?! A dish sure to impress and satisfy in an elegant way! Thanks so much Kevin!!!!
lora kling says
It was indeed a lucky day when I discovered your blog! I will be making these eggs this weekend. My Hubby and visiting Son & DIL will love them! I am also adding them to my album of family recipes (you’ll get all the credit, of course–though I do deserve some credit too for recognizing genius!) ) so all of the kids and grandkids and great-grandkids can enjoy them too.
Thanks again for such a fabulous and EASY brunch dish!
KAREN says
The chives should be tall enough to cut by the weekend!! Can’t wait to try these!!
Gloria says
I have always looked for another recipe to serve eggs and this one looks absolutely fabulous! I will make them this weekend! Thank you!
Pamela Terry says
This is quiet the looker in breakfasts ! Love a beautiful display of something good to eat! Always thank you for generously sharing of all your talents! Am so inspired and impressed with all you do! If only to accomplish so much… Keep sharing, it s such a joy , it s almost like we are there!
Trudi Dido says
hmm since i am a gluten free baker maybe I will try mochi for the puffs. or maybe gluten free biscuits? hey if I can make biscuits why not gf puff pastry? what the heck, its worth a try
Hilary says
Kevin, I make a similar version. Instead of chives, I add fresh dill. I also add 1 tbls. Creme Fresche. It is yummy.
Miya Squires says
If your guests don’t like runny eggs (my girl doesn’t!), I did a scrambled version that worked well. First, when cooling, take each shell off the pan and put it on a square of tin foil and fold up the edges to catch any overflow egg liquid. (My eggs were too large for the shells so they spilled out regardless of how I propped the shells up — but contained within the foil it all turned out great.) I beat a single egg with some herbs d’ provance and ground red pepper, and poured it into the cooled shell on foil square. You can hand-form the foil to hold in all the liquid around the shell.
I tried this for Sunday brunch today and it was really great!! I served it with blanched and seared baby asparagus with caramelized onions and a slice of bacon on each plate (used thick-cut natural bacon from Canada). I also added a few caramelized onions beneath each egg in the pastry shell before baking the second time.
I added the removed pastry lids (“plugs”) to the baking sheet 4-5 minutes before the final cooking time, which made a nice “lid” that I added to each shell on top of the bacon and cheese. My lovely guest said it looked like restaurant meal! I plan to make it “to order” for 4 next time I have friends over for champagne brunch.
Leslie D says
I have tried the eggs in sweet potato baskets, and am now eager to try these.
There is a problem around here finding these pastry shapes, although we can buy the sheets easily. My sister and I have been searching for a good supplier of the puff pastry shells, and
it is usually just by good luck when we run across a supply.
Love the bacon chives and cheese toppings, and also love the idea of sauteed onions and/or mushrooms as a base in the pastries before the egg is added. Fun to try so many suggestions.
Thanks, Kevin.