Description
Bite-sized herbed goat cheese balls, lightly sweetened with honey & bejeweled with finely chopped nuts & dried Montmorency tart cherries. These bejeweled goat cheese truffles are the ultimate simple-to-make & oh-so-fancy shareable!
Ingredients
Scale
- 10 ounces goat cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or fresh herbs of choice), divided
- heaping ½ cup walnuts (or nut of choice), finely chopped
- heaping ½ cup dried Montmorency tart cherries, finely chopped
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
Instructions
- Prep: Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix the goat cheese: To a medium mixing bowl, add the goat cheese, honey, 2 tablespoons of the fresh thyme leaves, ½ teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper to taste. Using a hand mixer (or a wooden spoon & some good ol’ elbow grease), mix until smooth & evenly combined.
- Make the goat cheese balls: Scoop the goat cheese mixture into tablespoon-sized portions. Set on the prepared baking sheet. The goat cheese will be very soft at this point, which is totally fine! You should yield 16-20 goat cheese balls.
- Chill: Set the goat cheese balls in the freezer to chill for 15-20 minutes, until firm enough to easily handle.
- Form & coat the goat cheese truffles: Place the chopped walnuts, tart cherries, & the remaining 2 tablespoons fresh thyme on a small plate & mix to combine. Once the goat cheese has set up & is easy to handle, use your hands to roll each portion into a small ball. Roll the goat cheese balls through the tart cherry mixture, pressing gently to coat the goat cheese truffles.
- Serve immediately as an elegant little party appetizer or to jazz up your favorite simple green salad. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: Store leftover goat cheese truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen goat cheese balls overnight in the refrigerator.
- Make-ahead: These goat cheese truffles are incredibly make-ahead friendly. 2 options:
- Full prep: Follow the complete Recipe Directions (Steps 1-5, above) up to 2 days in advance, storing the goat cheese truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.
- Partial prep: If you’d like to prep even further than 2 days in advance, only partially prep them. Follow Steps 1-3 of Recipe Directions, above, to make the herbed goat cheese balls up to 1 week in advance. Coat the prepped goat cheese balls in the Montmorency tart cherry & nut coating just before you’re ready to serve to ensure that the nuts keep their nice & crunchy texture.
