Gouda and Babybel Snacks

OK, Feasty Fans, we're double dipping this week with two recipes. They both taste the same so you pick which one you would like to try. If you want a quick and easy appetizer that tastes delicious, then this baby is for you. I managed to cut back on the fat and sugar without compromising the flavors. Maybe a little wine to go with your cheese appetizer. Enjoy!


Mini Encrusted Baked Gouda Pouches

• 8 light Babybel cheeses, unwrapped
• Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
• 1 egg, beaten
• optional dip #1: Smucker's sugar free Blackberry Jam
• optional dip #2: Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile unwrap plastic and wax from Babybel's and set aside. Open crescents and divide into 8 sections. Then wrap one section around cheese circle pinching seams together carefully and covering completely on crescent dough. Space evenly on ungreased cookie sheet and with a pastry brush on egg on top of crescents to make dough golden brown. Then bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip: You may use the mustard or jelly as a dip after baking or you may put 1/2 tsp of mustard or jelly on dough before you wrap cheese with crescent and bake the jelly or mustard in it. They are very good left plain too. Makes 8 mini baked cheeses.


Mini Baked Babybel Cups

• 8 light Babybel cheeses, unwrapped
• Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
• Smucker's sugar free Blackberry jam or Dijon mustard

You will need a mini muffin pan for this recipe. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Open the cheeses, cut then in half (like a half circle) and set aside. Then open Crescent rolls and divide into 8 sections, then cut each section in half (not in half long ways).  Place dough into mini muffin wells and add either 1/4 tsp mustard or jelly onto dough, then top with cheese half. Bake for 9 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 16 mini cheese cups.

Baked Figs Stuffed With Cheese

There is something special about the sweet taste of a fresh fig. You can not compare these to dried figs or Fig Newtons. Also they are hard to find because they need to ripen on the tree. I love them so much that it prompted me to grow my own fig tree. This tree is only 2 years old but I am getting about 6-8 ripe figs per day off of it. I read that by the time my tree is 3 years old that I will get 3 bushels of figs. It is the easiest tree to grow and fall is the perfect time to plant one of these treasures.

Baked Figs Stuffed with Cheese

• 12 fresh figs
• Gorgonzola crumbled cheese about 1/2 cup
• Pam olive oil spray
• kitchen scissors

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile using scissors cut off fig stems then cut halfway through fig twice in a X pattern. Gently open up fig and place on a pyrex glass baking dish. Gently place about 1/2 to 1 tsp of cheese into X opening of fig. Spray figs with Pam olive oil spray and bake for about 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Salted Chocolate Pistachio Bites

It just so happens that one of my favorites nuts are green. When I was a kid I thought that all pistachio nuts were red. Who in the world was the brianiac who thought we should only eat them dyed red? Kids used to love to have red fingertips after eating them. As an adult I think why dye? So now we pretty much see the pistachio all natural. YEAH!!! There is something special about that salty and sweet flavor that brings back my childhood memories for eating chocolate covered pretzels. It was love at first bite. So try my version of chocolate covered pistachios with a sprinkle of salt on top. May it be love at first bite for you.

Do your self a favor and buy the pistachios already peeled. Unless you are into pain, because after a while it feels like your ripping your fingernails off opening them. My pain management tip for the day. :)

Salted Chocolate Pistachio Bites

• 1 cup Ghirardelli bittersweet baking chips, 60% cocoa
• 1 ½ cups shelled Pistachios, roasted and salted
• Fleur de Sel salt or sea salt

Melt chocolate over a double boiler on low until melted, then mix well with a wire whisk to make sure all chips have melted down. Stir in pistachios and mix until nuts are completely coated. Remove from heat and you may drop dollops (about 1 heaping Tbsp.) on to a wax paper topped cookie sheet. Or you may drop into little mini muffin liners. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of each chocolate drop before it hardens. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until chocolate is completely set. This makes about 20 bites.

Chocolate Chipotle Frito Drops

This is a fun invention that is really different. The sweetness of the chocolate and the saltiness of the Frito go very well with the spice of the chipotle. I like the delayed reaction of how the heat of the chipolte sneaks up on you after you are munching on them. Surprise! It is a flavor bang that is well worth the try. Be brave, go for it.

• 1 cup Ghirardelli double chocolate bittersweet chips, in bag
• 1 Tbsp. Crisco
• 1 tsp. ground chipotle chile
• 1 bag Frito's scoops, 9 ¼ oz.
• 1 small ziploc snack size bag

In a double boiler over low heat melt chocolate and Crisco. When chocolate chips and Crisco are melted well with a wire whisk stir in 1 tsp. chipotle chile powder and turn off heat. Place Frito's scoops on a large plate, scoop side up, so you can drizzle chocolate mixture into the scoops. Place melted chocolate into ziploc bag, close seal and snip a small corner off of end of bag. Squeeze drop a small amount into each scoop. Chill scoops in refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until chocolate is completely set. Then you may store them in a airtight container in refrigerator.