Goat cheese, pecans and cranberries appetizer
A delicious appetizer of goat cheese, pecans, and cranberries that you make in just 10 minutes. Best described as creamy goat cheese balls with a crunchy crust of pecans, cranberries, and parsley. Drizzle each cheese ball with some honey. Delicious as an amuse-bouche, appetizer or snack.
Equipment
- Glass bowls
- Ice ball scoop
- Hand Mixer
Ingredients
cheese balls
- 5 oz soft goat cheese
- 5 oz cream cheese without herbs
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 oz. pecan nuts finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cranberry dried finely chopped
Nut coating
- 3 oz. pecan nuts finely chopped
- 3 oz. cranberries finely chopped
- 1 oz. parsley finely chopped
To serve
- 2 tablespoons honey
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
Making cheese balls
- Place goat cheese, cream cheese, cinnamon, honey, pecans, and cranberries in a bowl.5 oz soft goat cheese, 5 oz cream cheese, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 oz. pecan nuts, 2 tablespoons cranberry
- Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed so that the mixture becomes creamy and fluffy.
- Optional: put the bowl, covered, in the refrigerator, for at least 15 minutes, but you can leave it in longer. That makes creating the balls easier.
Coat with nuts
- Mix the pecans, cranberries, and chopped parsley on a plate.3 oz. pecan nuts, 3 oz. cranberries , 1 oz. parsley
- Scoop with an ice cream scoop, I used a diameter of 1.38 inches (3½ cm), a ball of the cheese mixture, and place it on top of the nut mixture.
- Roll the cheese ball through the nut mixture so that it gets an even layer.
- Place on a plate or bowl.
To serve
- If you serve the goat cheese balls right away, drizzle a little honey over the balls and serve.2 tablespoons honey
- Otherwise, keep them covered in the fridge. Drizzle with the honey just before serving.
NOTES
1 - Cream cheese - Substitute the cream cheese with the same amount of mascarpone. This makes the balls even creamier.
2. - Pecans - You can also use walnuts or pistachios for this.
3. - Cranberries - You can replace cranberries with currants, raisins, or dates.
4. - Parsley - For the taste, it does not matter whether you use curly parsley or flat, but for the eye, the flat parsley is the most beautiful.
5. - Easy mixing tip Remove both cheeses (cream cheese and goat cheese) from the refrigerator 15 minutes before preparing this recipe. Then they are softer and blend better.
6. - Goat cheese lollipop Stick a pretzel stick into a cheese ball and you have a goat cheese lollipop. That way you don't need a skewer to eat.
7. - Storage
The nutritional value shown is per appetizer. But it is true that you probably use less coating and honey than what is indicated. The real values will therefore be lower.
- Refrigerator - Make the cheese mixture up to 2 days in advance and roll it into balls. Keep it covered in the refrigerator. I wouldn't apply the coating just yet. The pecans become soft and the parsley less fresh. But you can make the coating within a few minutes, so the cheese balls are on the table in no time.
- Frozen - You can freeze these cheese balls for up to 1 month. For easy storage, place them on a plate with some space in between and let them freeze. Then remove them from the surface and put them in a bag. That way they don't freeze together. TIP - Parsley gets a different structure in the freezer. Choose to add the nut topping later or omit the parsley.
The nutritional value shown is per appetizer. But it is true that you probably use less coating and honey than what is indicated. The real values will therefore be lower.
Nutrition
Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 125mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 731IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
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