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Whipped Goat Cheese Pomegranate Bites

Posted By nutmegnanny On In Appetizers | 22 Comments

These beautiful whipped goat cheese pomegranate bites are made in less than 30 minutes and are the perfect stunning holiday appetizer.

This post is sponsored by General Mills. As always all opinions are 100% my own! 

Growing up every single Christmas went the same way.

Now, growing up I have to admit something. I’m a bit of a Scrooge.

Rarely do I ever put up a tree because the thought of decorating the house to only put it away in a month just exhausts me.

I love being in a big decorated house but actually doing the decorating is just something I’m really into. I guess this means that at the ripe old age of 34, I’m a grump. It was bound to happen. 

However, one thing I will NEVER give up is my love of appetizers on Christmas Eve.

Seriously, I don’t want a big meal I want all the apps and all the desserts.

Well, I guess now that I have become an adult I guess I also want all the aged eggnog. Because nog just goes with Christmas – am I right?

During the day on Christmas Eve, my mom and I would bust into the kitchen and make so. much. food.

Of course, the classics were present – meatballs, little smokey sausages wrapped in crescent dough, and my mom’s “famous” cheesy burger dip. Which as I type all of this out I realize I have never even put it on the blog.

What is wrong with me?! I really need to change this ASAP! You need that dip in your lives, people.

We would also sometimes cook up a big batch of shredded chicken for warm shredded chicken sandwiches which are an Ohio staple. I also just realized I should put those on the blog too.

For desserts we kept it classic – sugar cookies, some sort of gingery cookie, and then (ALWAYS!) PEANUT BUTTER BUCKEYES!

Buckeyes are also an Ohio Christmastime staple.

If you visit Ohio and Christmas and go to someone’s house and they don’t have buckeyes you need to leave.

They are not a true Ohioan or they are really weird. Of course, none of that is true if they have a peanut allergy. Then it’s ok.

Now, I will say that 13-year-old Brandy and 34-year-old Brandy have a few different tastes.

While I still crave all my childhood favorites I like to switch it up every now and again.

I never had goat cheese till I was well into my 20s and the first time I had it I was not a fan.

I KNOW! What was wrong with me?

Luckily now I have my head screwed on tight and I love it!

Seriously, the number of times I have used goat cheese on this blog should be outlawed.

But this time around I took that goat cheese and whipped it up with lemon, honey, and rosemary and topped it with delicious flakey pie crust rounds.

Those little gems you see below me are actually little rounds of a cutout Pillsbury pie crust  (That I picked up at Sam’s Club!) that I quickly (I’m talking 5 minutes here folks!) baked up and then topped with the whipped goat cheese mixture.

In total, this whole appetizer took less than 30 minutes.

You cannot beat that for a holiday appetizer! Plus can we talk about how those pomegranates look like shining little jewels?!

Now I know what I want for Christmas. (Runs off to write “rubies” on her Christmas wish list…)

Oh, and if you’re looking for more pomegranate but in drink form you MUST try this pomegranate martini!

And I love how easy it was to take something like pie crust and transform it into something totally unexpected.

Cooking is kind of amazing in that way, right?

Also, not sweating the small stuff if you can’t find pomegranates in your store. Not only are these little whipped goat cheese pomegranate bites delicious without them they could easily work with pears, apples, or even berries!

{Looking for more delicious holiday appetizers? Try my Baked Spinach Bacon Dip, Steak Fajita Phyllo Bites, Apple Butter Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Preserved Lemon and Mint Whipped Feta Dip or my Bourbon BBQ Meatballs.}

Whipped Goat Cheese Pomegranate Bites

These beautiful whipped goat cheese pomegranate bites are made in less than 30 minutes and are the perfect stunning holiday appetizer. Store bought pie crust is cut out and baked into little flakey cracker rounds and topped with honeyed whipped goat cheese, pomegranate seeds and a sprinkling of honey and rosemary. You will love this new quick and easy holiday appetizer!

Yield: 24 bites

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, unrolled
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh cracked pepper
  • 4 ounces goat cheese
  • 2 tablespoons honey, divided
  • 3 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary, divided
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon grated garlic
  • 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • Pomegranate arils

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

Using a small 3-inch cooking cutter cut out little round in your pie crust. Cut out as many little rounds as you can get out of your pie crust - about 24 rounds.

Lay your pie crust rounds onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush each round with olive oil and sprinkle each one with cracked pepper. Using a fork poke each round a few times so it does not puff up too much.

Bake for 5 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

While the pie rounds are cooling in a bowl add goat cheese, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon minced rosemary, lemon zest, grated garlic and 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Using a mixer blend together until whipped and easily spreadable. if it's too thick add a bit more heavy cream until you have reached desired texture.

Spread the whipped goat cheese onto the cooled pie rounds, top with a few pomegranate arils, a sprinkling of the remaining rosemary, a drizzle of the remaining honey and a few cracks of black pepper.