Guava & Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls

Guava and cream cheese crescent roll served warm with ice-cream and chocolate syrup-YUM!!!           

Growing up,one of the many joys of being a kid was the comfort and security of knowing that I was loved. My parents never let us forget that we were important,we were enough and we were loved. I am forever grateful for such wonderful parents! It is by their example that I learnt that family comes first. I never met either of my grandfathers as they had passed on before I was born. I did, however, get to meet both my grandmothers. And boy, am I glad I did! It is obvious that both my parents learnt their family values largely in part from these strong women. Both my grandmas lived in the same town so whenever we went to visit them, we had double the pleasure of being spoilt by each of them. I clearly recall my maternal grandma would sit me on her lap and "sing" blessings to me even as a teenager whenever we went to visit her. I remember chuckling at the visual of my 13 year-old self sitting on her lap and thinking I was waay too old to be carried! I am getting chocked up typing this because I miss seeing her smiling face and pearly white teeth. I remember she had a huge guava tree right outside her house that bore so much fruit the guavas would literally line the floor around the bottom of the tree. She would always send us off with basket fulls of the fruit that we would eat for days!

 

So when I happened to see a package of guava slab at the grocery store the other day, I knew I had to get it though I wasn't sure how I was going to use it. It was in a form other than the actual fruit (which is the only form in which I thought they existed), and it went by a foreign name ("Guayaba"),but it still tasted just like the guava I used to eat as a child. I came up with this recipe in loving memory of my grandma. I know it would make her proud. I will share it here with you. These are flaky and buttery and the tartness of the cream cheese combines  beautifully with the sweetness of the guava paste to create a melt-in-your mouth collaboration of goodness! The vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce just take the goodness up a notch. I think I may have found the solution to world peace-a basket filled with these and we'll all get along :)

 

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:

 

-Baking sheet covered with parchment paper or Silpat (reusable silicone baking mat).

-Pastry brush.

-Knife.

-Cutting board.

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

                                                                         

 

-1 can jumbo crescent rolls of your choice.

-1 8oz. pack of cream cheese.

-1 slab of guava paste (I used the Conchita brand "Guayaba paste" that I found in the international aisle at the grocery store).

-1/4 cup granulated sugar (I used cane juice sugar).

-1 egg,well beaten with 2 tablespoons of water (for egg-wash).

 

****PREHEAT OVEN TO 375 DEGREES FARENHEIGHT *******

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

 

-Cut both the cream cheese and the guava paste width-wise into 1/4 inch thick strips as shown below.

 

                                                                        

 

-Now further cut these strips cross-wise into smaller rectangles (1 1/2 x 1 inches). See the picture below.

-"Sandwich" a strip of cream cheese between two strips of guava paste as shown below and set aside.

-Open the crescent roll package and uncoil each crescent roll and place on a lighly floured surface to prevent sticking.

-Now place two cream cheese-guava "sandwhiches" on the wider end of the crescent roll, leaving about  3/4 of an inch space away from the edge (see image below) and roll up the cerscent per package instructions.

 

 

-Once you are done rolling up the crescents,place them on your lined baking sheet (with the seam touching the baking sheet so that the roll does not come undone), leaving space between each crescent as shown below.

 

                                                                        

 

-Using your pastry brush,apply the egg-wash to the crescent,making sure you apply the mixture to all exposed surfaces of the crescent. This will give the crescents a nice shine.

 

 

                                                                         

-Sprinkle some sugar to the top of each crescent to give it a nice crunch as the sugar will caramelize as you bake the crescent.

 

                                                                              

 

-Place the baking sheet in the center rack of the oven and Bake per crescent roll package instructions (at 375°F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. See picture below).

 

                                                                                                           

 

-Let the crescent rolls cool for 5mins. You can eat it as is, or you can dress it up with some vanilla ice-cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. YUMMMM!!!