Goat Cheese Truffles
I’m always joking that I’d rather have cheese than chocolate for dessert – and this is my inspiration for this dish. It’s all in the presentation. Goat cheese is combined with a little Greek yogurt and herbs d’ Provence, then rolled into “truffles” and then coated with a variety of fun toppings. To serve, place them in little paper cups as you would a truffle. Serve with crostini or crackers. These are the perfect way to begin or end your meal.
Instructions
1. In a bowl of your food processor, pulse the goat cheese, yogurt, and herbs de Provence until well blended.
2. Damped your hand with water and place a teaspoon of the cheese mixture into the palm of your hand; roll into a small ball. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until all the cheese is rolled into balls.
3. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or over night. Once the cheese balls have firmed up, remove them from the refrigerator and roll into the nuts, fruits and seeds, coating the outside of the balls completely.
4. Place on serving tray with crostini. Cheese Truffles are best when served room temperature.
Crostini
1. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Place the sliced bread onto a baking sheet. Brush each slice with a little olive oil. Bake until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.
TIPS & TRICKS
• If the cheese gets too soft while rolling into balls, place the mixture in the refrigerator to firm up a bit.
• Goat cheese balls can be rolled 2 days in advance. Then, the morning of your event, roll the balls in the different coatings.
• Cheese is best served at room temperature, so remove the truffles from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving them.
• I placed the balls in little paper cups to make them look more like truffles.
Ingredients
16 oz. goat cheese
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1tsp. herbs de Provence
Roll:
½ cup finely chopped nuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios or almonds
2T chopped parsley
½ cup dried cranberries finely chopped
½ cup spices: sesame seeds, everything bagel, or poppy seeds
Crostini:
1 baguette loaf, cut on diagonal into 24 thin slices
¼ cup olive oil
