Name: Goat Cheese and Fig Tartlets
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 6 puff pastry shells ((see note)); 6 tablespoons goat cheese; 3 figs ((or more if the figs are very small)); 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze ((or more to taste))

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Goat Cheese and Fig Tartlets are an easy and great appetizer. Delicious and perfect combination of sweet, salty, and crispy. Perfect for a festive dinner or party. Great appetizer for Thanksgiving and Holiday Season. Only 4 ingredients and under 30 minutes to make.

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Puff pastry is one of my favourite ingredients ever. I just absolutely love the versatility of it. You want to make something easy and sweet and delicious? Use some puff pastry. Want to create a savoury meal or an appetizer? Use puff pastry!

It’s also very convenient to use pre-made stuff and now that most stores also sell already pre-rolled puff pastry sheets, making a quick dessert or an appetizer is easier than ever!

My husband notoriously doesn’t like sweet and savoury together. So, cheese and fruit are mostly off limits in my household. I, on the other hand, adore cheese and fruits or berries in the same bite.

So, when he was away for a few days last week, I ate all the goat cheese and figs I could get. From salads, to pies, to these delicious and super easy to make Goat Cheese and Fig Tartlets.

These Goat Cheese and Fig Tartlets are an amazingly easy, delicious, and fast appetizer to make. It is also fancy and sophisticated and it will be perfect for a festive dinner party.

Ingredients to make Goat Cheese and Fig Tartlets

There are only a few ingredients.

Puff pastry – either regular rolled out sheet or block of puff pastry or, as I used in this case, already pre-cut puff pastry shells (this is the kind I use in Canada. And here’s a similar product for my American readers)
Goat cheese
Figs
Balsamic glaze (this is the specific kind I use, I buy it at Costco during the holiday season)

How to make Goat Cheese and Fig Tartlets

If you are using pre-cut puff pastry shells, then making these tartlets is a breeze. If you use regular puff pastry then you’ll need to use a bit elbow grease to roll it out first but then it’s still super easy to make.

If you are using a block of puff pastry, then roll it out to about 1/2-inch thickness, then cut into desired number of squares. Usually blocks of puff pastry come in breakable piece, that separates into two. Half of the block can be rolled out and cut into about 6 squares to make 6 tartlets.
If you are using pre-rolled puff pastry, then the package also comes with two sheets. Cut one of the sheets into 6 squares to make 6 tartlets.
Once the pastry is cut into 6 pieces, take a knife and make a circle about 2 inches in diameter inside each square. Do not cut all the way through the pastry, you just want to mark and indent the dough. This is will help the pastry around the circle to rise and create walls on the tartlets.
If you are using already pre-cut puff pastry shells, then all of the above is already done and you don’t need to do anything.
Arrange the pastry on a sheet pan, an inch or two apart.
Place about 1 tablespoon of goat cheese into the centre of each tartlet (the circle that was made with a knife).
Arrange a few wedges of a fig over the goat cheese.
Optional step: you can drizzle the balsamic glaze at this point or add it after the tartlets are baked, or do both.
Bake for about 20 minutes until the puff pastry has risen and turned golden brown.
Drizzle with balsamic glaze if desired and serve hot or cold.

How to serve tartlets

These tartlets not only delicious but also very beautiful. You can serve them just on a regular platter or just like I did and serve them more rustic style on a sheet pan that they were baked on. Arrange some greens around the tartlets and add a few fresh figs for a very beautiful presentation.

This recipe is so easy that you can make as few as 6 tartlets (if you are using blocks of puff pastry or sheets of puff pastry). Or even just one or two tartlets if you are using pre-cut puff pastry shells. Alternatively, you can make 12 or even 24 tartlets without much more effort.

Another way to serve Goat Cheese and Fig Tartlets is over a salad. This way you can turn a light appetizer into a good first course salad. Serve it family style on a big platter or in individual plates.

Use about 1.5 cups of your favourite greens per person. Dress the greens in a light balsamic dressing, scatter a few nuts (such as pecans or pine nuts), a few fresh fig wedges and one tartlet on top.

Variations for Goat Cheese and Fig Tartlets

The most obvious variation is to change up cheese and fruit. You can really use any creamy cheese (although perhaps not plain cream cheese) and any juicy fruit or berry.

For the cheese try: blue cheese, feta, camembert, brie, boursin
For the fruit try: peaches, nectarines, pears, apples (although they might not be soft enough after 20 minutes of baking), strawberries, blueberries, persimmons

You can add various nuts for a crunchy contrast to the tartlets: almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts. hazelnuts.

To add more complex flavour to the tartlets you can add a few more fun toppings: caramelized onions, honey, thyme, rosemary, cranberries (they will be very festive).

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