Coronation Chicken Salad Pastries

The chicken salad filling for these pastries takes inspiration from the one served at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation luncheon. We kept the signature curry powder but made our own creamy dressing and added dried cranberries for a hint of sweetness. While most often used to make sandwiches (which you can and should do too), baking this filling up in flaky, buttery pastry results in an irresistible entertaining snack or even full-on dinner. 

Ingredients

Makes 18

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 375°. Place 3 scallions, thinly sliced, 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, ⅓ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup chopped dried cranberries, and 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard in a medium bowl. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and 1 Tbsp. curry powder in a small skillet over medium, stirring often, until foaming and fragrant, 30–60 seconds. Pour oil into bowl with chicken and mix well.

   Step 2

   Working with 1 sheet from one 17.3-oz. package frozen puff pastry, thawed, at a time, unfold puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 12×12″ square. Cut into nine 4×4″ squares with a knife.

   Step 3

   Place a heaping 1 Tbsp. filling in 1 corner of bottom half of a square. Press down on filling to spread out, making sure to leave a ¼” border around edges. Fold dough in half on a diagonal up and over filling to make a triangle; pinch edges together to seal. Crimp edges with a fork, then cut 3 slits across the top. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.

   Step 4

   Transfer pastries to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 1″ apart. Brush tops with 1 large egg, beaten to blend, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until golden brown and puffed, 30–35 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

   Do ahead: Pastries (without egg and sea salt) can be assembled 3 months ahead. Freeze on baking sheets until pastry is solid, about 45 minutes, then transfer to resealable plastic bags or stack in airtight containers between sheets of parchment paper. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sea salt before baking 35–40 minutes.