The last thing you need after a 6 a.m. wake-up call from your kiddos on Christmas morning is to spend time in the kitchen preparing an early holiday breakfast. Don’t add to the holiday burnout, keep it simple with these tasty homemade pastry treats, made easier with store-bought ingredients. You can even assemble them the night before, store them in the fridge overnight, and pop them in the oven to bake in the morning.

Yields approximately five large pastries.

You will need:

• 1 package refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts)
• 1 egg, whisked in a small bowl
• Desired filling
• Large holiday cookie cutters
• ¼ cup store-bought white frosting
• 1 tablespoon water
• Decorative sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Unroll pie crust onto large pastry mat or cutting board. Use cookie cutters to cut desired shapes from dough. (You’ll need two shapes per pastry.) Look for cookie cutters with large surface areas, such as trees, snowmen, stars, and ball ornaments.
3. To assemble pastry: Place one dough shape on your work surface and top it with approximately 1 to 2 tablespoons of desired filling. (Amount of filling varies based on the size and shape of the cookie cutter used.) Spread the filling to cover the surface area of the dough, leaving about a half-inch border around the edge. Using a small pastry brush or your finger, brush the egg wash around the border to create a “glue” for the top. Place second dough shape on top. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork around the perimeter of the shape. Place pastry on lined baking sheet.
4. Continue Step 3 until you’ve assembled all pastries. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly.
5. Mix 1 tablespoon of water with ¼ cup frosting in a small bowl. Using a spoon, drizzle the icing over each pastry. Decorate with sprinkles, and serve warm.

Tip: Don’t toss leftover dough. Combine the dough and reroll it, then cut more shapes. This may yield thicker, denser pastries, so be sure to adjust the baking time as needed.

Fill ‘Em Up!

Make or buy your kids’ favorite fillings for:

• Homemade or jarred jam
• Nutella
• Pumpkin or apple butter
• Peanut butter and jelly
• Cinnamon and sugar filling
• Whipped honey
• Fudge filling