Sweet Treats Saturday: Goat Cheese Sugar Cookies

Ok, if you've made it this far, you are in for a treat!

Yes, the sugar cookies have goat cheese in them. No, you will not taste it. What you will taste is a delicious, crispy, buttery, sugar cookie.

When I saw this recipe come up on my Pinterest, I was instantly intrigued. I'm a sucker for goat cheese - on my pizza, in tarts... and apparently in my sugar cookies. But I'm also the type of person who would pick a sugar cookie over chocolate chip, anyday. My husband calls it blasphemy.

The ingredients (other than the goat cheese) were things I would normally have in my pantry. And I actually had the goat cheese on hand as I planned on using it for pizza night later in the week. And while we are at it, how about sprinkles in fall colors? Perfection!

These cookies were so easy to make and so crispy and delicious. I love a sugar cookie all rolled up in sprinkles and these were probably on my top 5 sugar cookie of all time list. Yes, I have such a list.

Surprise someone and whip up this batch of cookies. I didn't tell anyone the secret ingredient, and they never would have guessed anyways. But they were all raving about how delicious they were!



Goat Cheese Sugar Cookies
Recipe only slightly modified from Love and Olive Oil

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c sugar
1/3 cup (3 oz) soft goat cheese, room temperature (I used the crumbled kind)
6 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 tbsp milk (1% was fine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
sprinkles or sanding sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to sift. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, goat cheese, and butter. Mix with an electric (or stand) mixer until it forms a smooth paste.  Slowly add in oil. Then add egg, milk, and vanilla extract, stirring until all is blended and smooth.
4. Slowly add in flour mixture until it is all blended. Batter will be soft and may need to be placed in fridge in between use.
5. Fill a small bowl with sprinkles or sanding sugar.
6. Use a small cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to scoop out dough. Scoop into bowl and roll around until mostly covered.  I leave space on the bottom but you could cover the entire cookie. Arrange on prepared baking sheet. The cookies do not spread too much but leave a little space in between each one.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are set and slightly golden.  Cool and transfer to wire racks.

Savory Sunday: Blackberry Goat Cheese Tart

Day two of the weekend of tarts! This time we're going savory with a hint of sweet.  It's a goat cheese tart topped with blackberries and a bit of honey.  This would be perfect for a brunch or tea.  Not sure about goat cheese? The tart basically tastes like a mild cheesecake with a perfect sweetness added from the berries and honey.

Again, still working with my mini-prep food processor, so I used my stand mixer.  I think you could also use a hand mixer to get the same results, but make sure your ingredients are at room temperature.

One tool you will need is a tart pan with a removable bottom.  I picked up a 9" round tart pan that fit the ingredients perfectly.  There was a little leftover dough that could be used for a mini tart or two, but you will need additional filling if you decide to use it.

Blackberry Goat Cheese Tart
Recipe from Blondies Cakes
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Ingredients for the crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
7 tbsp butter, room temperature
3 oz cream cheese, room temperature

Ingredients for the filling:
6 oz goat cheese
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Ingredients for the topping:
approx. 12 oz blackberries
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp thyme leaves

Directions for the crust:
1. Combine all crust ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until the dough is well blended.  Turn out onto saran wrap and form into a flat disk.  Wrap up and refrigerate for a couple of hours so that the dough firms up enough to roll out properly.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Place dough disk onto a floured surface.  Roll out using short strokes from the center outward until the dough is a couple of inches larger than your tart pan (about a 12" circle for 9.5" tart pan).  You should not need to grease your tart pan.  Gently place the dough into the tart pan.  The easiest way that I found to transfer the dough was to roll it onto my rolling pin and then unroll it over the pan. Gentle ease the dough into the pan filling out the edges and lightly pressing into the ridges.  Remove the extra trim from the sides of the pan - you can use them for additional tarts or toss it. I rolled the pin over the top of the sides to make it easy to peel the top right off.  Place the dough into the freezer while you prepare the filling.

Directions for the filling:
1. Combine the filling ingredients into bowl and beat until the mixture is smooth and blended.  Pour into the pan, smooth the top and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.  Once the top is puffy and golden, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

2.  Refrigerate the tart to cool completely, then top with the berries.  Drizzle honey over the top and sprinkle with thyme leaves.

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