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?
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 —The Editors
Makes: about 3 dozen
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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.
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Love this recipe, made as is and also my own riffs. I added two tsp of sugar to the blue cheese dough, and for the topping I combined equal measures of apricot jam/preserves to the fig preserves. Both versions have been really well received by guests.
Some reviews commented that they didn't hold up well the next day. For me they were great the next day! Excellent warm right out of the oven, but also a good texture the next day.
Just made these and they turned out well -- only thing I would do next time is use a stronger flavor blue cheese, the blue cheese flavor in the finished product is very mild. I used Boar's Head Creamy Blue Cheese Crumbles for reference.
Wonderful recipe, a huge hit for both my Thanksgiving dinners (ok, so Thursday is not enough...we have more family on Sunday as well...). After reading comments about the savouries crumbling, I tried adding an egg yolk. Ta-da! I also shaped the dough into two long cylinders and froze them. Come the big day (s), I sliced into rounds and baked them. And to save my sanity, being the big day (s) and all, I simply served the fig/walnut jam in a bowl on the side, for guests to slather as they desired. As other commenters have noted, they really do not keep their crispness the day after, but they are still tasty as nibbles with a glass of wine when you are padding around the house recuperating from it all.
I made them, they were DEE lish but they were soggy the next day. Dont know if you can crisp them a bit. I still ate about 20.
Also, I used the back of a cake decorating tip and pushed them through the other side with a chopstick to get them to be one inch!
I made these using a nice Maytag and fig preserves using the roll/slice method, very easy. Everyone said they were good but they were not gobbled up. I personally found them to be almost too rich, very buttery to the point of greasy. And not very crisp. I'm not much of a baker so don't know how much of the butter can be cut back. Unless someone has a suggestion on how to make these less greasy, I probably won't make these again.
This recipe says can be made the day before. Does anyone know how long they can be stored without becoming soggy? I'd like to make them 2 or 3 days ahead as I have many things to prepare for a party. Also those cutting to 1/4" by log or rolling in ball method, how long do you bake? Thanks for your assistance.
I make these often- they are best made the day of - early in the day is fine. Keeping them longer - they loose their crispness. The log method is my favorite way- slice and bake. Make the log as far ahead - freeze . Then just slice in 1/4 to 3/8 inch slices- thinner and they are almost too delicate and many break. Bake about 10 min and you'll see if they are brown enough for you. Everyone just loves these, You can never make enough. When you roll the logs- use plastic wrap or wax paper- dough is very moist and make them small for the same reason.
I agree with freezing, I have frequently baked right out of the freezer for just a few minutes longer than written and they're great. You may be able to bake 2 days before and then add the jam later? They're also delicious without, I call them grown up Cheese It's :)
I've kept them for a few days, but I've always made in dry climates. Sealed in ziplock, I usually can get a few days out of them.
I'd make the dough log a few days in advance and pop in the freezer (or fridge, well-wrapped, for up to 3 days?) then cut while cold, thaw for a few min on the baking sheet then smoosh with a knuckle & bake.
These freeze really well I take them out an hour before the party and they are perfect
So easy to prep and excellent results. Adapted to local ingredients for fillers with herbed red onion marmalade (Beau Bien, made in Detroit) and hot pepper jam ( Slow Jams, also made in Detroit) and both were delicious.
Made these yesterday for company and they were a hit. Delicious combination of flavors. After reading about the crumbling problem, and I know about that from another similar cracker, I added 1 tablespoon egg to the mix in the processor. They were tender but not crumbly and did not spread at all while baking. I also rolled the dough 1/4" and was very happy with the size. I used homemade fig jam which is very thick and was perfect. If the jam is not thick, I would reduce it to prevent it spreading over the cracker. These are delicious and very professional looking.
surprisingly easy and so delicious! popped my dough in the freezer to let it chill before rolling out and it was perfect!
I tried the glass container and it worked wonderfully. These goodies don't freeze well but kept for a week in a glass jar. They are crisp and just fine! Thank you.
Pattyposy, if you have a glass container with a lid (my lid is plastic), place the savouries in a layer, add parchment if you need additional layers and they should keep. I find storing in glass helps keep things crisp, no pun intended, instead of plastic storage containers.
How can these goodies be stored if not eaten immediately?
I shape the dough into a log and just slice and bake what I need. The remainder can be refrigerated or frozen for future use. Very often I just make half of the recipe in my mini chopper. I think they are too fragile to store for very long, especially with the jelly in the middle.
Can I use my vita-mix instead of food processor?
Pegeen is a trusted home cook.
Great recipe - they always vanish. My family counts on them now. Offering a few comments based on my experience:
I always use Maytag blue cheese but have tried Stilton with same success. You don’t want a cheese that’s too crumbly. Definitely do not use blue cheese crumbles. Maytag or Stilton makes these more $$$ but they’re worth it. They vanish.
Some notes:
- I always make a double batch, because I roll out to 1/4 inch thick, not 1/8 inch and also make them about 1-1/2 inches, wide not 1 inch. I get just over 2 dozen doing this double batch and wider cut.
- I use 1/4 inch roll out because I found that at 1/8 thick, the back of the 1/4 measuring teaspoon, which I use to make the well for the jam, tore through to the bottom of the dough, leaving little or nothing between the dough and baking sheet.
- Rolling out: Very lightly flour the work surface. I put a piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough. The plastic wrap sheet(s) need to be big enough to handle the size when the dough is rolled out, so if your roll of plastic wrap is not wide enough, you might need two slightly overlap two sheets of plastic wrap to one another.
- Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick
- I don’t have cookie cutters. I use the mouth of a jar or juice glass about 1-1/2 inches wide to cut circles in the dough. Set each circle on baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.
- Use the back (rounded side) of a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon to gently press an indent into each round. Don’t press too hard, you need some dough between the jam and the baking sheet. If the dough seems to get sticky, put it back in the fridge for 20 minutes. Or wet the back of the measuring spoon with plain water before pressing it into the dough.
- Make indents in all your rounds, then go back and fill them:
Use the same measuring spoon or whatever, and tuck some fig jam into the well. It’s fine if it overspills a little. The great thing is that you can use pretty much any jam that complements your meal: cranberry confit for winter holidays? Apricot or strawberry for springtime? Etc. One caution: the jam should not have huge hunks of fig or whatever fruit because they’ll be too big to fit into the wells. If the jam does have big hunks, allow time to fish them out of the jar and chop them smaller before stuffing them into the crackers.
- Bake only until bottoms are golden brown. The tops may not be golden brown and that’s OK. Keep lifting up a couple crackers and checking the color of the bottom. If you are baking more than 1 sheet, rotate the sheets on the oven shelves half-way through.
- The baking time will be a few minutes longer if you cut them 1/4 inch thick (vs 1/8 thick mentioned in the recipe).
They are delicious!
Made a batch of these for a dinner party using Trader Joe's Fig Butter, which we love. The Cuisinart makes this super-fast. I kneaded the dough on a floured board and rolled it into a 16-18" log that was maybe 1.75-2" in diameter, wrapped it in plastic wrap and left in the fridge to harden. Several hours later I used a sharp knife on the cold dough and to my surprise had zero problems with crumbling. I popped 'em onto a Silpat-lined cookie sheet (pretty close together) and let them sit for a few minutes to warm a bit then used my knuckle to make the indent. They baked to a nice golden brown after about 16 minutes. They're a one-bite munchie that goes great with wine or champagne and will be a go-to for sticking in the freezer in log or coin form for future consumption. LOVED these. Rosemary or cayenne would be a nice addition. v
Lovely! I used blueberry preserves and added a teaspoon of thyme. Delish. For Thanksgiving I'm going to try jammy, deeply caramelized onion for the middle.
I made a double batch for a 60th birthday party, using Meyer Lemon marmalade, Fig Cognac jam, hot red paper jam, and caramelized apple jam. The Crackers looked beautiful on the platter. A few notes - I used a 1 1/2" circular cutter, and found that I needed to bake the crackers at least 16 minutes for a light brown finish. The indicator of doneness for me was being able to smell the blue cheese. The dough is a breeze to make, and I erred on the side of using more cracked pepper, since there are only 4 ingredients in the dough.
So good, so easy, new favorite.
Do these need to be refrigerated to store? Thanks!
There shouldn't be any left but I separate them with a layer of waxed paper in a plastic bag on the countertop.
I never have any leftovers. I make them in logs an either refrigerate or freeze them and then take out one log at a time. I just slice them, put the jam or jelly in the middle and bake them.
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