Baked Cheese in Pastry Appetizer
I am about to share a really guarded recipe that I have had for about 30 years! I cannot tell you where I got it or what the appetizer is really called. But since I need to call it something I will just say it is a Baked Cheese in Pastry Appetizer.
This is an appetizer that I have made countless times over the years for a night just like last night. We were having a few neighbors over last evening. It was somewhat of a last minute shindig. Since I was hosting and cleaning up for company, I needed a few quickie appetizers to throw together in a hurry. I had picked up a few cheater frozen appetizers at Trader Joe’s (that incidentally are quite good), but being the author of a food blog I could not really serve those now could I?
So, this is when this great appetizer comes into play! Every time I have made this people want to know what is in it and want the recipe! They always ask (as our friend did last night) if I made the pastry? What else is in it besides what I told them? It tastes and looks far more complicated to make than it is and isn’t that what you want to serve your guests? 😉
No one will ever know unless you tell them or they are reading this! So here it goes…..
Voilà! You will have an elegant and delicious appetizer that will impress your guests! The cream cheese tastes as though it has been mixed with other ingredients after it bakes in this crust and almost has a whipped consistency. The crescent dough surprisingly has a real pastry taste and texture. Best of all, it really is quite attractive! I must say it is a pretty nifty recipe with so little effort involved. We all need a few things like this in our recipe files to fall back on when we are hosting guests last minute and pressed for time.
Enjoy!
Baked Cheese in Pastry Appetizer
Ingredients:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese (I use Philly because it’s the best and I am from there! By the way – do not use low-fat!)
1 small container Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (4 pack)
2 teaspoons fresh snipped dill (if it is fragrant). Otherwise, use approximately 1 teaspoon dried dill weed (use enough to fully cover the top of the cream cheese, approximately 1 teaspoon).
1 egg, beaten with a few drops of water
Whole wheat crackers, for serving
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay the crescent roll dough out on a lightly floured surface. Pinch seams together to make one solid piece of dough. Put the cream cheese on top. Sprinkle with fresh snipped dill or dried dill weed to taste. (I usually cover the cream cheese pretty thoroughly).
Turn the cream cheese over so that the side with the dill weed is face down. Seal up all the seams of the dough and turn it right side up. Put in a Pam coated baking dish.
Brush with beaten egg. If you are feeling fancy, cut out an additional piece of dough to decorate the top (like I did). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve with crackers.
Gwen!
What a lovely appetizer. Perfect for Superbowl parties! Your photos are great too- I’d love to ask you to add your photo to the Foodista Baked Cheese in Pastry appetizer. I think they would add so much to the Foodista page. What do you think?
Thank you for the comment! It is a great Superbowl party appetizer. You may need to make more than one since it always disappears! I would love to add a photo to Foodista. There is not an exact match for the name. Should I post the photo where I also grabbed the widget which is under Baked Cream Cheese Appetizer?
Wow, that looks like a fancy schmancy recipe and yet it is so easy. That looks really good. Thanks for passing it on.
Incredible! Simple, inexpensive and delicious! Can’t beat that. 🙂
Looks delicious and incredibly easy! I will have to try this. Photos look beautiful!
Thank you Taylor. I am so happy to finally have them updated. Now, if we could only get to all the other old posts….
If this is half as good as it looks in the pictures-winner!
Can’t think of anything better than cheese wrapped in pastry! With wine, of course 🙂
I love this idea, so simple so brilliant…
I don’t really like cheese, but this is truly a temptation!
Not a dill fan, but this is one of those recipes you can easily adapt with other herbs and/or toppings. Yes, I need to go back for a few do-over photo shoots also 😉
Wow that looks great! (And who doesn’t like easy?)
It occurred to me that you might split the cream cheese whilst cold into two slabs. Then layer in any number of toppings (basil, tomato paste and pine nuts come to mind). Sandwich the slabs together and bake as directed.
Hi Daren.
I am sure that would be a great idea. I have not changed the recipe much over the years (I have tried fresh dill and added an egg wash), but I am sure that fillings would be terrific. Please let me know what you try and what works! I don’t think too many things can go wrong with crescent rolls and cream cheese! 😉
Thank you writing this. I’ve been trying to find this info. Very good information I am going to look for more info around the Vegan Diet program.
For your information , this recipe comes from a Kraft cookbook named Philadelphia cream cheese cookbook. Published in 1988, I still use this great recipe book today and it also has some great cheese cake recipe.