Fig and Blue Cheese Savouries
Ingredients, from left to right: blue cheese, butter, flour, fig jam and black pepper.
Use a good, firm blue cheese -- nothing too creamy, or the dough will be sticky.
Consulting about cookie cutter sizes.
Checking to make sure the dough is just coming together in a ball.
It's essentially a shortbread dough, but with cheese!
If you're nervous, you can chill the dough for a little bit before rolling it out.
You can use your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon, like we did, to create little troughs for the jam.
1/4 teaspoon is just right -- otherwise, you risk spillover!
Isn't Amanda's Christmas tree pretty?
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Author Notes: 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. - TheRunawaySpoon
- TheRunawaySpoon
Food52 Review: These delicate, crumbly little thumbprints are the perfect combination of sweet and savory, as their names suggests -- they're like a great cheese plate all wrapped into one crunchy little morsel. TheRunawaySpoon's simple food processor dough yields tender, buttery coins flecked with blue cheese and black pepper. A good quality fig jam is crucial here; if you can't find it, quince or pear jam would also work well. - A&M - A&M
Makes about 3 dozen
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup 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 indentation in the top of each dough round. Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of fig preserves into each indentation, using your finger to push the preserves as best as possible into the indentations.
- 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.
- 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.
- Your Best Open House Dish Contest Winner!
Tags: blue cheese, Figs, savory
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11 days ago Kristen W.
Just made these with chevre (not a huge fan of blue cheese) and some jalapeno chutney I found at the market, since fig preserves were nowhere to be found. It worked wonderfully -- so easy and SO delicious!
12 days ago piacere
My hubby is the baker in the family and his first pass at these was yesterday. His outcome looked just like the photos here and the flavor was delicious. Perfect little "popper" size too. He shares that he needed to use about 1/4 cup more flour than the recipe specified to get to the right consistency but points out that can often happen in baking given moisture content in air and flour can impact flour amounts as measure. As might how moist is the blue cheese selected for this recipe as there are all kinds of moisture levels in those. He's going to play with this again make a flour weight note, since he uses weight measures when baking, on his file copy of this recipe because it is definitely a "keeper"!
about 1 month ago Diana Colton
I love the idea of this recipe, but am not a huge blue cheese or gorganzola fan. Would this dough work with goat cheese?
2 months ago Sanibelle
I have made tham with blue and/or gorganzola cheese and both worked. I tried a Martha Stewart recipe with pecans, and it was not as good. I have used fig jam but like them best with a mango habanero jam from a local source. Next time I will use a hot pepper jam. I also make them as slice and bake and will freeze some of my latest batch. Everyone loves them and this is the best recipe out there.
5 months ago deanna1001
Oh yes. Easy, perfect little nibbles. Made them for a building holiday party. The first thing to go. Saved some dough for later. I foresee fabulous Super Bowl snacks. Or they might only make it to the next Downton Abbey...great recipe!
5 months ago Kate's Kitchen
I used Maytag Blue and it worked well - I also added a dash or two of hot sauce,just because. They are delicate so handle with care. In addition to fig preserves I also used quince paste which was very good and held it's shape while the fig preserves tended to spread out a bit.
5 months ago Minimally Invasive
These were just FANTASTIC! I made them with gluten-free flour, so the dough was a bit sticky to work with, but I absolutely loved the results. So glad you shared your beautiful recipe!
5 months ago Laurelb
Loved these but they were so crumbly that many broke. Wondering what I did wrong?
5 months ago Principalma
I have made these for 3 parties this holiday season and they were a hit each time. I garnished them with some crumbled bleu cheese so they would not be misunderstood on the buffet table. My husband thought they could not be better until he had ine with a little bleu cheese on top. Delicious
5 months ago Johnny Ringo
I made these as an appetizer for our monthly dinner club, along with CozyDelicious' Orange Blossom Candied Cranberries. They were fantastic, everyone raved about them, and none came home. The proof as they say, is in the tasting.
6 months ago WhiskItGood
I'm always looking for fast and easy appetizer recipes. I made these for a medium-size event of 50 folks last Saturday - I was so impressed with this recipe. Super easy, and I was able to make about 150 of these guys in about an hour (recipe above x 3). The dough comes together perfectly in the food processor. I also grabbed some dried figs and thinly cut slices out of them, pressing the slices on top of the fig preserves. Super cute. And again, sooo easy. Will definitely add this to our catering menus.
6 months ago Georgetown-DC
When needing to have a non-interference in the kitchen appetizer for Thanksgiving I thought I would give these a try. Dough comes together in a snap. Super simple! I too used the plastic wrap in the fridge method, doing this step the day before. I would recommend, however, if you have them in the fridge that long, let the slices sit a bit before putting them in the oven, not necessary but think it might crisp them up a bit faster. I used my finger to create the well for the jam. I also used more jam then indicated.
For the record, these are AMAZING! The crispier the better, it caramelizes the fig jam a bit. I had to give the left overs away because I could not stop eating them.
I served these with a Martha Stewart Pickled Shrimp recipe. Also keep me out of the chaotic Thanksgiving kitchen. To the recipe I added slices of fennel - yum. The thing that's good about this recipe is that it's low fat and good for you, which combats all the Fig and Blue Cheese Savories you will not want to stop eating.
http://www.marthastewart...
Enjoy!
6 months ago dancingchef
Made them for the first time tonight.. delicious! can't wait to serve them tomorrow.
7 months ago dancerslikefood
This is my go to appetizer for a get-together, especially when I have virtually no time to prepare said appetizer. It's fast, easy, and consistently tasty. Even those who dislike blue cheese find this a delicious start to a meal. I often do not like to repeat recipes, just because there is so much to try, but this is one that merits multiple appearances. Thanks!
8 months ago magdance
The first time I made these yummy crackers I used room-temperature cheese and cold butter and rubbed them in by hand, like for piecrust before the food processor, and they were marvelously flaky. The second time I tried it with both cold ingredients, also rubbing them in. It worked, but the finished product was way too friable, tending to fall apart. Next time I think I'll mix in soft cheese with a spoon, then rub in hard butter. Also I found 1/4 inch better than 1/8 for thickness, and the small size recommended, 1 inch rounds, much the best.
10 months ago Kimblay
These were excellent. I served these as an appetizer for a party and they were gone in no time. Even people that didn't like blue cheese enjoyed them. I would recommend refrigerating the dough before rolling it out as this helps prevent it from becoming too sticky.
10 months ago mainesoul
These disappeared in a flash! So good. So easy. I made a log out of the dough,wrapped it in plastic and put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. I sliced them. This was much easier than rolling out the dough.
10 months ago Sigita
wow - these are one of my favorites and I hated rolling out the dough! Thanks for the brilliant idea about making a log ....everyone loves them.
10 months ago mainesoul
Drum roll. I am bringing them next door. They will be the first of many dishes. The Maine course - lobster. I will update you.
about 1 year ago BlissfulBaker
I made these tonight, and they were easy and delicious! I filled half with apricot jam & half with cherry jam.
over 1 year ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I made these yet again, for our Tournament of Roses festivities . . . ran out of fig preserves, so I used some of Bevi's outstanding Caramelized Apple Jam in about a third of the batch, and some pear-apple Mostarda Mantovana (recipe by Maria Teresa Jorge) in the rest. Perfect party food! ;o)