Week 14: Your Best Open House Dish

WHO: The Runaway Spoon is based in Memphis, Tennessee. She wrote, “I think I am like most people: somewhere in the middle between food snob and food schlub. Just being in the kitchen makes me happy.” [Her recipes for Pastitsio and Baked Ricotta and Goat Cheese with Candied Tomatoes also appear in the book.]
WHAT: Delicate, crumbly little thumbprints that are the perfect combination of sweet and savory — a cheese plate wrapped into one crunchy little morsel.
HOW: A simple food-processor dough yields tender, buttery coins flecked with blue cheese and black pepper. Good-quality fig jam is crucial here; if you can’t find one, quince or pear jam also work well.
WHY WE LOVE IT: The Runaway Spoon came up with these as an easy hors d’oeuvre she could make on the fly when invited to friends’ houses. Might we suggest that you make two batches?

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the flour, butter, blue cheese, and a few grinds of black pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until the dough just comes together and starts to form a ball.
3. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to pull it together.
4. Then roll out to a ⅛-inch-thick circle with a floured rolling pin. Cut rounds out of the dough with a floured 1-inch round cutter and transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Reroll the scraps (no more than once) and cut more rounds.
5. Using the back of a rounded ½-teaspoon measure or your knuckle, make an indentation in the center of each dough round. Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of the fig preserves into each indentation, using your finger to push the preserves as best as possible into the indentation.
6. Bake the savouries until the preserves are bubbling and the pastry is light golden on the bottom,
7. 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.