Blue cheese and bacon jam swirls look fancy but they are SO easy to make…and unbelievably tasty!
Disclosure: I was given a wedge of Sequatchie Cove Creamery’s Shakerag Blue Cheese to create this recipe. No other compensation was provided and, as always, all opinions are my own. This post contains an affiliate link. This means that if you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. The cost to you is not affected.
I am not a celebrator of New Year’s Eve. It’s not that I have a problem with celebrations, and I will certainly use New Year’s Eve as an excuse to eat snacks because I would rather have snacks than a meal any. day. I might even stay up late to watch the ball drop. I’ll definitely grumble about the fact that my neighbors will be shooting fireworks until 1 a.m. and scaring my cat.
My problem with New Year’s Eve is that there is no way on this earth that I could possibly survive being out that late on any night ever. The last time that I was out past 10 p.m. I barely stayed awake. It was ugly and not to be repeated if avoidable. Staying out late does not equal fun for me. Daytime New Year’s celebrations complete with sparkling grape juice are more my speed.
When Dre from Sequatchie Cove contacted me to see if I was interested in getting some cheese to create some recipes for them, I didn’t have to give it a second thought. I love Sequatchie Cove…their meats, their vegetables, and their cheeses. I don’t get very many opportunities to go to Main Street Farmers Market these days but was happy to make a little excursion to pick up this beautiful wedge of Shakerag blue cheese. There are not a lot of purveyors making cheese locally around here so Sequatchie Cove Creamery’s cheese is special.
This blue is beautiful, wrapped in local fig leaves soaked in Chattanooga Whiskey and woven through with the telltale veins of blue that you obviously would expect from a wedge of blue cheese. The smell is strong and pungent, belying the mild (but not too much so) flavor. It tastes like a blue but it’s not overwhelming. It’s a little bit sweet and perfectly salty.
When I was trying to decide what to make with my Shakerag blue cheese, I knew that I wanted to make a snack or appetizer that would be perfect for a New Year’s Eve celebration. I remembered that I had some bacon jam that I had just made for WHISK Magazine. Sweet and tangy bacon jam with salty and tangy blue cheese? Perfection. How could I pair the two??? Palmiers or puff pastry swirls. Blue cheese and bacon jam swirls….yessssss. I’ll be honest, I started off making palmiers but got lazy on the second piece of puff pastry and switched to making swirls because they were easier to cut. Whether you make blue cheese and bacon jam palmiers or blue cheese and bacon jam swirls, they’re beautiful and delicious. And perfect for New Year’s Eve…or Tuesday night, which is when we ate them.
Yield: 30-40 swirls
10 minPrep Time:
20 minCook Time:
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Ingredients
- 1 package (2 pieces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1/4 cup bacon jam (see notes)
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used Sequatchie Cove Creamery's Shakerag)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Unroll one sheet of the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface.
- Spread the puff pastry with two tablespoons of the bacon jam and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the crumbled blue cheese.
- Roll the puff pastry into a tube for swirls, or roll each side to the center for palmiers. If you want, you can chill the dough at this point for easier cutting, but I didn't bother.
- Using a serrated knife, cut the pastry into 1/4-inch slices. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients.
- Bake the swirls/palmiers until light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Bacon jam is easy to make. Because I created my recipe for WHISK Magazine, I cannot post it here yet, but I adapted my recipe from this one on Cravings of a Lunatic . If you don't want to make it, you can purchase bacon jam in some grocery stores or on Amazon. I like Skillet Bacon Spread (<--affiliate link).
Click here to print the recipe for blue cheese and bacon jam swirls!
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