Sundried Tomato Cheese Rolls. Your new go-to, easy appetizer for the summer.
Meanwhile in Canada, Thanksgiving 2017 was like this...
I'd like to think that years from now our kids will be sitting around a fire pit, reminiscing, as we tend to around the fire pit, when one of them will say "Remember that time when we swam on Thanksgiving Day! It was CRAZY warm that day.... because your Dad hadn't closed the pool yet.. That was so fun.."
And here it is, in typical Canadian fashion, we crammed Thanksgiving dinner in between hockey games, outside on the back deck, poolside. Because this is how we roll.
So speaking of rolls (oh wow, did you see how I did that, I wasn't even expecting that! ☺️ ) I made this super easy little appetizer to munch on while we waited for dinner to finish up.
These Sundried Tomato Cheese Rolls are quick to make and I think relatively impressive.
Honestly, anything in puffed pastry is impressive. Rightfully, if you can make puffed pastry on your own, we should all bow down before you with awe and wonder. And if I had made that puff pastry by hand, I would tell anyone who asked all about my labours - maybe even anyone who didn't ask. Because that truly is impressive.
But if you, like me, grabbed a box from the freezer section (I highly recommend you go this route) you can just smile and say "Oh it was easy" and leave it at that. Let everyone wonder how you went about it.
Basically softened cream cheese is mixed with some jarred sun-dried tomato, fresh basil and a sharply flavoured cheese. I used smoked Gouda. I just love what that smokey cheese does for these bites. But a good sharp Cheddar would work too. Or Applewood Smoked Cheddar! Swoon...
To keep these vegetarian I like a couple of tablespoons of toasted walnuts. For your not so veggie-minded friends crumble in a couple of pieces of crispy cooked bacon. Since this amount of filling will cover two sheets of puff pasty, you can easily do half with walnuts and half with bacon and make everyone at the table happy.
Be sure to sprinkle the walnuts (or bacon) evenly across the top of the cheese mixture before rolling these up.
You can assemble these ahead of time and keep them chilled until you are ready cut into rolls, bake and serve. Bake these up to a crispy golden brown. Best served hot.
Here is how you make them:
Sundried Tomato Cheese Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 package of frozen puff pastry thawed in refrigerator overnight - 2 sheets
- 1 8 oz block of light cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons of mayo or sour cream
- 1 cup shredded Smoked Gouda cheese
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatos packed in oil, chopped
- 2 tablspoons fresh basil finely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons toasted walnuts roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl mix together cream, mayo, shredded cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Taste for salt and pepper, adjust as needed.
- Gently roll out one sheet of puff pasty, it should be completed thawed at this point. With and offset spatula gently spread half ot the cheese mixture evenly on puff pastry. Sprinkle with half the chopped walnuts.
- With the widest side of the pastry facing you, pick up the far end of the sheet and gently roll towards you.
- Repeat with remaining sheet of puff pastry, cheese mixture and walnuts.
- At this point, the rolls can placed in the refridgerator for several hours or upto a day ahead of time. Slicing is easier if the pastry has been chilled. Of course, if you are in a hurry, you can do your best to carefully slice at this point and bake right away.
- Slice each roll into about 12 slices, about 1/2 inch think each, and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Serve while hot.
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