Pizza Puff Pastry Sticks

We had some family over a few weeks ago for dinner and originally I had planned to make Dijon Batonnes- an amazingly easy appetizer of puff pastry and Dijon mustard courtesy of Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. As the date got closer and I got thinking more about it, I realized that my teenage nieces may not be as keen on Dijon as I. Confession: I have been known to eat Dijon mustard out of the jar with a spoon. That is how much I love it. 

I knew that I wanted something that would keep the ease of the Dijon version (puff pastry + Dijon + egg wash + sprinkling of poppy seeds) but had ingredients that were a little more recognizable and palpable. The theme of the dinner was make-your-own-pizza so I decided to make a pizza version of the breadstick. Truth be told it was just as grown-up friendly as it was kid-friendly. It was a close race, but we ran out of this version before we ran out of the "adult" Dijon breadsticks.

Pizza Puff Pastry Sticks

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

1 1/2 Tbsp of tomato paste

1 Tbsp of chopped fresh basil (or 1/2 Tbsp of dried basil)

1 1/2 Tbsp of shredded mozzarella

1-2 Tbsp of water

Egg, whisked with a little cold water

Italian Seasoning or dried Oregano

1. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with Olive Oil spray.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Mix together tomato paste, basil and cheese. Add water until mixture is spreadable. 
4. Roll out puff pastry dough so that it is about 12 x 16 inches.
5. Cover lower half (on the short side) with tomato mixture leaving 1/8 inch around the edges.
6. Fold dough over and seal around edges.
7. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 1 inch strips.
8. Transfer to baking sheet. 
9. Brush on egg wash and sprinkle with Italian Seasoning (or dried Oregano).
10. Bake 7 minutes. Rotate pan. Bake 7 more minutes or until golden brown.