Little flaky bites of puff pastry are swirled inside with a spiced brown sugar pumpkin mixture. Dashes of honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and clove add a cozy and warming touch of autumn flavor. A little taste of fall is tucked away inside each buttery bite of this super simple Thanksgiving puff pastry appetizer.

It’s an easy recipe that comes together in the oven in minutes with simple ingredients like canned pumpkin, brown sugar, honey, spices, and that life-saving frozen puff pastry from the freezer section!

A Simple & Delicious Thanksgiving Puff Pastry Appetizer

This is a simple idea for a sweet filled puff pastry pinwheel that anyone can spread on and bake in minutes. While there are lots of recipes for savory and cheesy puff pastries, this one is a sweet puff pastry filling. It’s one that you can serve in the fall, at Thanksgiving, and even during the holidays as a real crowd-pleaser.

People always enjoy pumpkin desserts and puff pastry appetizers throughout the holidays, so why not combine the two? This is an easy pinwheel recipe you can keep handy and bake up on the fly when needed. It combines that flaky pastry appetizer with something sweet yet it’s lighter than a cookie.

Store-bought puff pastry sheets keep this recipe easy and fast. When you’re ready to bake these buttery puff pastry pinwheels, you’ll have to pull the store-bought puff pastry dough from the freezer and allow enough time for thawing. For me, 30 to 40 minutes is usually enough time to unfold the dough without cracking it. It has to be at least be soft enough to open up at the creases.

Make Easy Pumpkin Puff Pastry Pinwheels

My personal favorite go-to brand is the Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheets. They bake up flaky, puffy, and golden every time! When working with frozen puff pastry sheets, remember that you do not need them to come to room temperature. You only need to thaw until soft enough to unfold and roll out. You actually want the dough itself to still be quite cold or it will be difficult to handle if too warm. When working with buttery dough, cold is key!

Mix The Sweet Pumpkin Filling For The Puff Pastry

While you wait for the puff pastry sheet to come to a thaw, you can prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with a little parchment paper and setting aside. Now prepare the easy spiced pumpkin filling with just a handful of ingredients!

In a small bowl, combine pumpkin puree, a little vanilla, some brown sugar, and honey with pinches of cinnamon and ground clove. You can also use pumpkin spice mix instead, if desired. Set your pumpkin mixture aside while you roll out your puff pastry sheet.

On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out your puff pastry sheet to a 12 x 10 inch rectangle.

Spread the Pumpkin Filling All Over The Puff Pastry Sheet

Using a spatula, spread the pumpkin filling we mixed earlier onto the surface of the puff pastry sheet. Spread in an even layer.

If not already, turn the cookie sheet with the pumpkin puff pastry sheet so that the long end of rectangle shape is facing you. Starting with the longer end of the rectangle, carefully roll the puff pastry sheet. Roll it jelly-roll style until the whole thing is coiled into a nice neat roll. This will help to create a fun shape when we slice.

Slice The Rolled Puff Pastry Into Pinwheels

Using a very sharp knife, slice the rolled pumpkin puff pastry. Using a quick motion, slice the whole roll into 3/4 inch slices to create pinwheel shapes. Some pumpkin filling will ooze out as you slice and may drip onto the work surface as you cut.

It makes for a pretty sort of ‘topping’ over the pinwheels as they bake. Also, the pecans and sprinkles stick to the oozed out filling as these bake, giving them a pretty finish out of the oven.

It may seem a little messy, but it’s ok! Using a quick motion and a sharp blade will help to stop too much oozing of the filling while cutting. Continue slicing until finished and arrange the slices so that they lay with the cut and coiled sides down flat.

If you would rather avoid any filling coming out, store the entire unsliced puff pastry roll in the freezer. Let sit in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to set, then slice.

Transfer Thanksgiving Puff Pastry appetizers To A Baking Sheet

Use a thin spatula to transfer the unbaked filled puff pastry slices to a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently space out the unbaked pinwheels in a single layer evenly on the prepared baking sheet.

Top Thanksgiving puff pastry pinwheels With Melted Butter

Using a pastry brush, dab each one of the pumpkin puff pastry rolls with melted butter. Top with small chopped pecans and sprinkles of sparkly gold sanding sugar.

Top Puff Pastry Pinwheels With Pecans & Bake

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until pumpkin filling is just set and the flaky puff pastry pinwheels are golden. A nice hot oven temperature helps the filling set up quickly. It also helps the buttery dough bake into a golden flaky pastry in minutes.

When baking time is up, let the puff pastry pin wheels cool on the cookie sheet. Alternatively, you can also transfer to a cooling rack, if desired.

Enjoy this simple pumpkin pinwheel as a festive Thanksgiving puff pastry appetizer. Serve as a festive sweet treat at a Halloween party, or holiday brunch!

If you’re looking for a full puff pastry tart you can serve up in squares, check out this simple and elegant pumpkin apple puff pastry dessert!

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