Fig and Manchego Puff Pastries

I made these to eat while watching football games on Sunday. The recipe definitely delivers on the low labor, high flavor promise -- they were easy to make and tasty. I could put them together and get them on the table quickly, without missing much of the game.

My main comment is that cheese and jam oozed off the sides of many of the pastries, making them a bit messy. I don't think there is anyway to prevent this (though the circle indentations appear to be helpful), so have paper napkins on hand.

I really liked this recipe, and based on flavor, I should have awarded it a 5. But I down-graded it because of its high fat and low nutrient content.

I made several variations. First, I wanted this for finger food for a get-together, so instead of 2 inch squares, I made 1 inch squares.

Second, I couldn't find fig jam (darn those Utah stores!). So I substituted my own home-made tomato-ginger jam (recipe in the new york times). With the Manchego cheese, it was sublime.

Finally, I had never used puff pastry, so was a bit nervous. But it was super simple! YUM!