These can be made in a flash and they will disappear equally fast! You can try many different fillings, but these are particularly colourful and festive.
Goat Cheese Stars with Pesto and Sun-Blushed Tomatoes
- Flour, for the work surface
- 340 g (¾ lb) puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions if frozen
- 99 g (3.5 oz) fresh goat cheese
- 60 mL (¼ cup) basil pesto
- 60 mL (¼ cup) sun-blushed (semi-dried) tomatoes in olive oil, drained and finely diced
- Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish
On a lightly floured work surface, unroll the sheet of pastry. Using a 7-cm (2¾-inch) star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 24 stars. Carefully transfer each star to a cup in a mini-muffin pan, pressing it gently against the bottom and extending the points up the sides to form a tartlet shell. Spoon a generous 2 mL (½ tsp) of the cheese onto the bottom of each tartlet shell. Chill for 20 minutes. While the pastry is chilling, preheat the oven to 204 C (400 F).
Bake the pastry until golden and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and spoon about 5 mL (1 tsp) pesto into 12 of the pastry shells, then divide the tomatoes evenly among the remaining shells. Arrange on a platter, scatter the basil around the stars and serve immediately. Makes 24 stars.