Pastelillos de Guayaba or Guava Pastries

Easy Pastelillos de Guayaba — Puerto Rican Guava Pastries

Whenever I travel home to Puerto Rico, one of the places I always make sure to visit is a local bakery. And there is one thing I almost always order: Pastelillos de Guayaba, or guava pastries.

They are flaky, sweet, buttery, and filled with that unmistakable guava flavor I grew up loving.

Since I usually only get to enjoy them when I travel back home, I decided it was time to learn how to make them myself. The best part? They are incredibly easy to make.

And yes — they taste just like the ones from the bakery.

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What You Need

You only need three ingredients:

1. Puff pastry sheets
2. Guava paste
3. Powdered sugar

That’s it!

For the guava paste, I prefer using the canned version from Goya. The texture and flavor work especially well for these pastries.

How to Make Pastelillos de Guayaba

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Allow your puff pastry sheets to thaw just enough that they are easy to unfold and work with, but try to keep them cool.

Unfold both puff pastry sheets and cut along the folds. This will give you six long pastry strips.

Cut the guava paste into small rectangular pieces and place them along three of the pastry strips, spacing them so you can make three pastries from each strip.

You can add as much guava as you like — just make sure you leave enough room around the edges to seal the pastries.

Place the remaining puff pastry strips over the guava-filled strips.

Cut each strip into three individual pastries.

Lightly dampen the edges with a little water and press them together to seal.

Bake

Arrange the pastries on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 400°F for approximately 10–15 minutes, or until the puff pastry has risen and the tops are beautifully golden.

Once they are finished baking, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.

And this next part is important: wait until the pastries have cooled before adding the powdered sugar.

If you sprinkle the sugar on while they are still hot, it will melt into the pastry instead of creating that pretty bakery-style finish.

Once cooled, dust generously with powdered sugar.

And you’re done!

How Many Does This Recipe Make?

One box of puff pastry makes approximately 9 large guava pastries.

You can also cut them smaller before baking to create bite-sized or mini pastelillos, which would be perfect for brunches, parties, holidays, or entertaining.

They’re simple, inexpensive, and such a fun way to bring a little taste of Puerto Rico into your kitchen.

Buen Provecho!