Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed.
Sweet, savory, and crunchy! You do have to be a fan of blue cheese to enjoy these, but I think there's nothing better than a pungent cheese with a bit of sweet. I found this recipe for Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites in a 2010 Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications for Appetizers. It's the perfect party food! And these candied walnuts you end up with, you'll want to make a whole batch of just those. But be careful, they can get soggy.
I have made this recipe several times. I usually make a double batch because you only end up with 16 and I always eat 3 or 4 while I'm putting them together because they are so yummy. I have tried these with organic apricots which is a bit better for you, but the organic apricots are darker and might look strange to some. Being an appetizer people just think they are dark because they are cooked, but I wanted to warn you of the discoloration in case you try those out.
Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites
Makes 16 appetizers
2 tsp. butter
2 Tbsp. finely chopped walnuts
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. snipped fresh rosemary or ¼ tsp dried rosemary, finely crushed
¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola,Roquefort, or other blue cheese (1 ounce)
1 ounce cream cheese
16 dried apricots
Snipped fresh rosemary (optional)
In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add wlnuts and sugar; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until walnuts are lightly toasted. Stir in ½ teaspoon fresh or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary; cook and stir for 30 seconds more. Transfer nuts to a foil-lined baking sheet; cool.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine Gorgonzola cheese and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
Spoon about ¾ teaspoon of the cheese mixture on top of each dried apricot. Sprinkle with nuts. If desired, garnish with additional fresh rosemary.
Per appetizer: 33 cal., 2 g total fat (1 g sat. fat), 5 mg. chol., 24 mg sodium, 3 g carb., 0.3g fiber, 1 g pro.
Love is all around you... Enjoy!
- Rachel
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