Air-Fryer Quesitos (Puerto Rican Cream Cheese Pastries)
Puerto Rican quesitos — strips of puff pastry rolled around a sweet cream cheese filling, air-fried until biscuit-gold, drizzled with honey and dusted in cinnamon sugar. The Caribbean breakfast pastry.
Quesitos — literally "little cheeses" — are the Puerto Rican bakery-counter pastry: rectangular strips of puff pastry rolled around a sweet cream cheese filling, baked or fried until the exterior crisps and the inside stays creamy. Served at every San Juan bakery alongside strong coffee.
The technique is straightforward. Mix softened cream cheese with sugar, vanilla, and a touch of egg yolk for richness. Cut puff pastry into rectangles, spoon filling along one edge, roll up, seal with beaten egg. Air-fry at 380°F for 10 minutes. Drizzle warm honey across the top, dust with cinnamon sugar.
The photo shows the quesitos on a marble surface: small golden-brown rolled pastries with visible cream cheese peeking out the ends, honey drizzled in glossy lines across the tops, powdered sugar dusted. The kind of breakfast pastry that justifies the early alarm.
Method
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01
Make the filling
Beat softened cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add egg yolk,
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02
Cut the pastry
Cut each puff pastry sheet into 4 equal rectangles (8 total).
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03
Fill and roll
Spoon 1½ tablespoons of filling along one short edge of each
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04
Egg wash
Place rolled pastries seam-side-down on parchment. Brush tops with
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05
Air fry
Heat the air fryer to 380°F (193°C). Cook on parchment in a single
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06
Finish
While still warm, drizzle each pastry with warm honey, then dust
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07
Serve
Eat warm with strong coffee.