Fig and Blue Cheese Savouries

Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

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.

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to pull it together. Then roll out to a 1/8-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.

Using the back of a rounded 1/2-teaspoon measure or your knuckle, make an indentation in the center of each dough round. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon of the fig preserves into each indentation, using your finger to push the preserves as best as possible into the indentation.

Bake the savouries until the preserves are bubbling and the pastry is light golden on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes.

Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Tips and Techniques

stinkycheese: "I just made these and they were fabulous. I used whole wheat pastry flour and added two ounces sharp English cheddar because I only had two ounces of blue. Love the fig jam all gooey on top."zingyginger: "They were a tad fragile when made to 1/4-inch thickness, so I made the second batch about 3/8 to 1/4 inch thick and they were much easier to pick up without falling apart in my fingers."lmacfgreen: "They freeze beautifully, jam and all! (Just put a little waxed paper between the layers when you pack them for the freezer.) They are the perfect thing to have on hand when you need to pull out something really good, and even better, homemade, for a yummy appetizer."ivyg: "Scored a home run with my book club! Because I was running out of time, I chilled the dough, then rolled it out and just cut into 1-inch squares with a pizza cutter. The entire prep time was literally 5 to 10 minutes. Thank you for making me look good."What the Community Said:jennifer ann: "I made these last night for friends and they are definitely going into heavy rotation this holiday season—so much flavor with so little effort. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!"kayb: "Learned something very important, making these today: Two batches is not enough!"

Reprinted with permission from The Food 52 Cookbook Volume 2 by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, © 2012 William Morrow