If you are like me, you always offer to bring something when invited to someone’s house. I mean the offer, I always love an opportunity to cook for people, but sometimes it’s hard to come up with a quick idea on the fly. And when it’s one of those roaming parties – not a seated affair – choosing a dish that doesn’t have to be kept hot or cold or require and special equipment adds to the challenge. I tend to fall back on the same recipes, but I recently wanted to add one to my repertoire – after all, it gets to be the same people at parties, right? These little Fig and Blue Cheese bites are easy but very elegant, and the surprising tart and tangy with sweet combination is a real treat.
Blue Cheese and Fig Savories
You’ll find fig preserves at the grocery – it may be shelved with the “fancy” jams and jellies. You can make these a day ahead and keep them in two layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container.
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Ground black pepper
Fig preserves (about 3 Tablespoons)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the flour, butter, blue cheese and a few grinds of black pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the dough just comes together and starts to form a ball.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to pull the dough together. Roll out to 1/8 inch thick with a floured rolling pin. Cut rounds out of the dough with a floured 1-inch cutter and transfer the rounds to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Using the back or a round half-teaspoon measure or your knuckle, make an indention in the top of each dough round. Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of fig preserves into each indention, using your finger to push the preserves as best as possible into the indentions.
Bake the savories for 10 – 14 minutes, until the preserves are bubbling and the pastry is light golden on the bottom.
Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, the remove to a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 3 dozen
Hi Perre! These look very crave-able! I think they’d be a great do ahead for a cocktail party and can’t wait to try them at my next one. Hope you’re doing well, thanks for the recipe and ideas.
Claire
I am going to give these a try. I am always looking for something new.
Wow, these look addictive. I haven’t used Fig Preserves yet — no good excuse for this really — and I think it’s now time I get out and get a jar because I want to make these now. As in RIGHT NOW! But it’s 12:06am. 🙂
Going to try these today!….they look like a very interesting and different nibble!…think I’ll try them right now! thanks!
I just posted a recipe for blue cheese cookies at my site, love the idea of the figs to go with them. You know what else you can do with fig preserves? You can mix them with mascarpone cheese, it makes a spectacular spread for crackers.
Always so glad for a new “take-along” recipe that can done ahead and served at room temp – so easy for the chef and host(ess) alike!
These sound scrumptious and easy, but I can’t eat blue cheese. Would the recipe work with parmesan or cheddar?
Anita – you can absolutely use cheddar cheese!
These disappear so fast that I seem to be making them all the time…but they are so easy, and guess what???? They freeze perfectly(!), even with the fig jam.
Your recipe was posted in the Oregonian Foodday section this week. I love the combination of blue cheese and fig jam so just had to try this recipe, especially as I’d also canned fig jam this fall. These are the absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe! I’ll be making them again and again.
GREAT recipe! And I love your site! I found this in the Oregonian, too. I’m making them for a little party tomorrow, and I’m going to try rolling the dough into a log, refrigerating it and slicing the cookies for baking instead of the cookie cutter method. What do you think?
I think that will work just fine!
I have to try these this holiday season!
Just made these last night after seeing them in a magazine in Santa Barbara. HUGE hit! So easy to make and tasted wonderful.
Made these for party appetizer this weekend and everyone loved them. Made a day ahead which seemed to heighten the blue cheese flavor a bit. Thanks!