These crunchy, flaky knots melt in your mouth in an explosion of delicious flavors! Buttery garlic is front and center in every bite from the first to the last. There’s also little bits of crunchy pepperoni sticking to them along with Parmesan cheese.
They’re everything you could wish for in a garlic knot and more!
The plus side is they’re super easy to make using puff pastry – no waiting on fussy dough to rise.
Not only are they smothered in garlic and Parmesan on the outside but the centers of the knots themselves are filled too. The puff pastry is brushed first with the garlic butter, sprinkled with Parmesan and folded in half, then thinly sliced and knotted before being tossed in the pepperoni goodness.
The pepperoni is cooked in a little butter and olive oil along with a boatload of garlic, fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese. The knots are tossed in this then topped with whatever didn’t stick to them the first time around.
They’re set on a baking sheet so they touch each other, kind of like pull-apart bread, and baked until puffy and well-browned.
You know how when you’re cooking and you think to yourself “So and so is going to love this!” but then they don’t flip for them. . . and the one person you didn’t think would be interested scarfs down ¾ of the platter. . . proving you totally wrong about everything?!
Well, not everything.
These are totally bad#ss in every way imaginable. <–That’s more right than wrong.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 ounces sliced pepperoni, chopped into small pieces about 1/3-inch big
- 5 fat cloves garlic, minced
- salt and fresh black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
- flour, for dusting
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
Make the topping:
In a medium frying pan melt the oil with 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-low heat. Add the pepperoni and cook, stirring often until they start to get crispy around the edges.
Set aside a 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic and add the rest to the pepperoni, with another tablespoon of butter, a 1/4 teaspoon salt and a dash or two of black pepper. Cook, stirring often until the garlic is fragrant about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and mix in the parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Make the knots:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease with butter.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and stir in the garlic you set aside.
Sprinkle a work surface lightly with flour and gently unfold the pastry. Roll the pastry sheet out into a 10-inch square.
Brush the bottom half generously with the butter/garlic mixture, sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese and fold the top half of the pastry down over the garlic mixture. Lightly press the edges together then roll over it lightly with the rolling pin.
Brush the pastry with the egg mixture (discard the leftovers). Cut the pastry into 20 1/2-inch wide strips.
Tie each strip into a "knot". Place them in the pan with the pepperoni mixture.
Gently toss them with a rubber spatula to coat them, don't worry about the pepperoni sticking because it will get spooned over them.
Place them on the baking sheet in a single layer so they are touching and form a circle out of them. Use a fork to poke each one gently a few times all over.
Spoon the pepperoni mixture over them, including any butter left in the pan. Sprinkle the tops lightly with salt.
Bake 28 - 32 minutes or until quite golden brown all over. Remove from oven and sprinkle the tops with more Parmesan.
They are best eaten warm and fresh. Reheat leftovers in the oven.
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