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Certain foods are synonymous with Tampa Bay: Cubanos, Bloomin’ Onions (Tampa is the birthplace of Outback, after all), grouper sandwiches, strawberry shortcake straight from Plant City. They’re must-haves when you’re in the Bay, but there’s one treat that doesn’t get nearly enough attention, and it really, truly should. I’m talking about pastelitos de guayaba y queso. These flaky hand pies are oozing with guava and cream cheese, which first-timers have described as “a cross between a cranberry-fig pie and a cheese Danish.”
It’s a traditional Cuban dessert, reflective of the vibrant Cuban culture that infuses Ybor City and the surrounding Tampa Bay area. And if you’ve grown up in Hillsborough or Pinellas County, it’s a treat that tastes like home. So, in honor of Tampa Bay hosting the Super Bowl this year—and the Buccaneers making it to the big game, the first in the NFL to enjoy such a home-field advantage—I wanted to try my hand at making them.
Photos: Candace Braun Davison 
This six-ingredient recipe is a simplified take on pastelitos, based on a combination of how friends have made them and a little internet research. I added a little lemon and sugar to make the filling a bit more cheesecake-y, though many recipes I saw online while researching the dessert called for spreading straight cream cheese on the pastry. Riff on this however you please!
Next time, I might try sprinkling coarse sugar on top of the pastry, post-egg wash, just to add a little crunch (and sweetness).
Guava and Cream Cheese Pastelitos
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking sheet
- Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed two sheets total
- 1 (14.1-ounce) package guava paste
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cream cheese, the juice of the lemon half and sugar. Beat to combine, about 1 minute.
- Spread out one sheet of thawed puff pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Slather the cream cheese mixture on the puff pastry.
- Slice guava into quarter-inch pieces. Cover the cream cheese-topped puff pastry with pieces of guava paste. Top with the other sheet of puff pastry, creating what looks like a massive puff pastry sandwich. Cut into 12 squares. Score the tops of each square with an X (or any design of your choice).
- In a small bowl, crack an egg and beat it until pale yellow. Brush the top of the puff pastries with the egg wash. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.