My sister-in-law showed up with these last Christmas and now everyone expects her to bring them to every single gathering.

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly butter or spray a glass baking dish (about 9×13 inches or similar) so the puff pastry bites release easily after baking.
Make sure your puff pastry is thawed according to package directions but still cold to the touch—this helps it puff into distinct flaky layers instead of melting. If it gets too soft while you work, pop it back in the fridge for 5–10 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, unfold the puff pastry sheet. Gently roll it with a rolling pin just enough to even out the seams and create a roughly 10×12-inch rectangle. You’re not trying to make it thin, just uniform.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the puff pastry into 24 small squares or rectangles—4 cuts one way and 6 cuts the other usually does the trick. They don’t have to be perfect; the puff hides a lot of sins.
Arrange the pastry pieces in a single layer in the prepared glass baking dish, leaving a little space between them so the heat can circulate and they can puff up. If a few touch, that’s fine; you’ll just pull them apart after baking.
Spoon a small dollop of the softened goat cheese or cream cheese (about 1 teaspoon) into the center of each pastry square. Try to keep the cheese mostly in the middle so it doesn’t run onto the dish as it bakes.
Top the cheese on each piece with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam or preserves. A light hand is best here; too much jam can bubble over and burn around the edges.
Place the glass baking dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 16–20 minutes, or until the puff pastry is deeply golden, flaky, and well-risen, and the jam is bubbling. The bottoms should be lightly browned as well.
Remove the dish from the oven and let the bites cool in the glass dish for at least 5–10 minutes; the jam is extremely hot when it first comes out. The pastry will firm up slightly as it cools, making them easier to lift out.
Serve the puff pastry bites directly from the glass baking dish, or use a small spatula to gently transfer them to a platter. They’re best within a few hours of baking but are still very good at room temperature later in the day.
Variations & Tips