Blue Cheese Bites With Fig Jam

Need a tasty starter for your next party? The classic combination of figs and blue cheese come together here in one buttery bite. What’s great about this recipe is that there’s no waste at all-you can keep rolling the scraps of dough out and cutting circles until there’s none left.

I must admit that these are slightly addictive. Serve with a chilled glass of champagne and let the holidays begin!

Blue Cheese Bites With Fig Jam (From Food 52)

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.

Panini Girl in Lucca May 2018 (April 28 to May 5) get in touch @ paninigirl4@gmail.com