Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Balsamic Strawberry and Goat Cheese Tarts

Desserts

I’m sitting in Heathrow right now taking advantage of the free internet from Starbucks before we head to Vilnius via Helsinki in a couple of hours! I’m a planner by nature and usually take charge of organizing all the details of our vacations, but this time Apolinaras has done everything and I have to admit that I could get used to just going along for the ride and not worrying about the details! We’re touring the entire country and visiting many of his family and friends – I’m so excited!

Before we left, I was frantically finishing up a couple recipes for contests and didn’t have much time to whip up any treats for my blog, but I found this goody that I made back in December that was just waiting to be shared. Puff pastry shells are filled with a sweetened goat cheese and topped with balsamic strawberries, which makes for a very tangy dessert.

We’re going to be here for 2 weeks and while I won’t be posting as often as usual, I do have a couple of fun posts ready to go – one of which involves chocolate cake and one of which is a giveaway, so stay tuned!

Balsamic Strawberry and Goat Cheese Tarts
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 (10 ounce) package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells
6 tablespoons high quality balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cups chopped strawberries
6 ounces goat cheese
3 tablespoons milk
6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Directions:
Prepare the puff pastry shells according to package directions. Let shells cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes, and remove tops.

Meanwhile, heat balsamic vinegar and granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and a thick syrup forms. Remove from heat and mix in chopped strawberries.

Mix goat cheese, milk, and 6 tablespoons powdered sugar in a small bowl. Scoop goat cheese mixture evenly into the cooled shells, followed by the balsamic strawberries. Sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon powdered sugar over the filled pastry shells. Makes 6 tarts.

Nutrition: 345 calories, 18.4g fat, 1.5g fat, 9.0g protein per tart
Cost: $1.75 per tart

Peppermint Brownie Torte

I’m proud to report that I finally squeezed in some holiday baking! I whipped up these gingerbread cookies and Emily’s soft buttery sugar cookies on Monday night and they were both a big hit at work. Two thumbs up for both recipes! Of course, I also couldn’t let the...

Peanut Butter and Banana Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

So after a few nights in Vilnius, we headed out on a road trip to see the rest of the country. The Lithuanian countryside is just gorgeous. Rolling cow pastures and farmland are interspersed with forests full of pine trees. We couldn’t resist stopping a few times to...

Nutella Pavlova with Strawberries

Time for my third and final New Zealand recap post (here are part 1 and part 2 if you missed them!). From Kaikoura, we set out on our longest drive of seven hours to the opposite side of the South Island to see two glaciers. Yes, glaciers! We visited Fox Glacier first...

Mocha Donut Pudding

Apolinaras and I just booked a trip to Lithuania! He grew up there and came to the US in 1995 for college, and while I’ve heard a lot about it, I actually haven’t visited yet. So I’m very excited to see where he grew up, meet his extended family, and visit the...

Blueberry Lemon Trifles

I’m so happy berries are finally in season! For the past couple of weeks we have just been annihilating as many as possible straight from the container – 2 pounds of blueberries only last a couple days around here. But, I’ve been yearning to use the new mini trifle...

M&M Cookie Dough Tart

Speaking of birthday treats, I made a very festive one for our lab technician Juliana this week. I topped a chocolate chip cookie base with a thick layer of eggless mini M&M cookie dough and then decorated the top with more M&Ms! I always like to add some oats...

Spiced Caramel Pecan Bars

I'm finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit!  I've been humming along to Christmas carols and doing a bit of online gift shopping. I love finding the perfect little something for everyone. I've also already squeezed in a little holiday baking! I made my...

Strawberry Lemon Mini Bundt Cakes

Apolinaras always gives me the cutest sad puppy dog face when I'm whipping up treats to bring into lab for birthday celebrations. If I'm making cupcakes, I always save a couple for him to enjoy, but I can't just cut into a pie or cake and give him a slice before it's...