Pretty Cream Cheese Recipe

Pretty Cream Cheese Recipe

Many of you have heard of serving hot pepper jelly over cream cheese as an easy appetizer.  But what about sweet tangy Pretty Peppers over cream cheese?  With only two ingredients (three if you count the crackers), entertaining is easy and elegant.

Our children hate peppers, and when I am cooking, I try my best to disguise them, but they LOVE LOVE LOVE Cherchies® Pretty Peppers, served this way as an appetizer. Go figure!

Not only are these tasty ruby peppers a fabulous appetizer, they are also perfect in eggs, casseroles, salads, dips, and so much more.   (Check out our recipes for our Pretty Peppers).

So, what are you waiting for? You need to try this easy appetizer recipe today.

Comment below and share your favorite Pretty or Pretty Hot Pepper recipe.

As always, thank you for visiting!

Ingredients:  

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

• 1/2 jar Cherchies® Pretty Peppers

• Crackers

Preparation

Spread cream cheese onto a plate.  In honor of Valentine's Day, I shaped the cream cheese into a heart and spooned the Pretty Peppers over the top.  

Serve with crackers.  Easy Peasy...done! 

View fullsize

Or try it with our new spicier Pretty Hot Peppers, or be daring and dollop one half of the cream cheese with Pretty Peppers and the other half with Pretty Hot Peppers and let your guests decide:)  Enjoy!

View fullsize

Muffuletta Cream Cheese Roll-Up Recipe

Prep Time:  5 minutes  Difficulty: Easy

This easy, tasty appetizer is an ode to my recent trip to New Orleans and my take on my new favorite sandwich, "The Muffuletta." This recipe is perfect as an appetizer for Mardi Gras, Gameday, or anytime you crave salty olives and salami (could be omitted for a vegetarian option), sweet roasted peppers, Provolone cheese, pepperoncini, and creamy cream cheese. Am I making your mouth water?

My hubby, I, and a few friends traveled to New Orleans (aka NOLA) for the first time and had the most sinfully delicious sandwich, "The Muffuletta," from The Central Grocery in The French Quarter. This enormous sandwich is made with homemade bread stuffed with layers of ham, salami, cheese, and a tasty olive salad. Seriously insane (everything in moderation, right?).

These tasty bite-sized morsels imitate the intense flavors of The Muffuletta without all the calories. For my version, instead of the traditional olive salad (found in most delis), I opted for green and black olives and provolone cheese from the olive bar at my local grocery store (you could make your own), salami, and added our sweet Pretty Peppers, and spicy Hot Banana Pepper Mustard. Oh my! Talk about a flavor party in your mouth! You have to try these flavorful morsels! They are a nod to New Orlean's "Muffuletta," but in appetizer-sized proportions, perfect for celebrating Mardi Gras, gameday, or any occasion. 

Comment below if you have tried this tasty appetizer.

For more easy and delicious appetizer recipes, check out our blog (blog.cherchies.com). Thank you for visiting:) We hope you come back!

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese. softened

• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Hot Banana Pepper Mustard

• 1/4 cup pitted green olives, chopped

• 1/4 cup pitted black olives, chopped

• 1/4 cup cubed Provolone, chopped

• 1/4 cup salami, chopped

• 1/2 jar Cherchies® Pretty Peppers, drained

• 1/4 cup pepperoncini (seeds removed), chopped

• 3 8" tortillas

Preparation

Mix the cream cheese and the Hot Banana Pepper Mustard together in a medium bowl.  Chop the olives, provolone, salami, and pepperoncini into small pieces (In the first picture the salami had not been chopped fine enough).  Mix in the olives, Provolone, salami, Pretty Peppers, and pepperoncini.

Generously spread cream cheese mixture over tortillas.  Roll up tortillas and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (you could slice immediately, but the roll-ups are easier to slice if chilled).  

View fullsize

View fullsize

Once roll-ups are chilled, slice into 1/2" slices.  Enjoy!

View fullsize

Cherry Apple Tart Recipe

Cherry Apple Tart Recipe

Cook Time:  30 minutes  

Difficulty:  Easy

We have updated this post from a few years ago with fresh pictures and content.

Cook Time:  30 minutes 

Difficulty:  Easy

We have updated this post from a few years ago with fresh pictures and content.

We all need to unplug occasionally and spend quality time together as a family. Aside from game night, movie night, and puzzle night, cooking and baking together is another perfect family-enriching activity for all ages. Cooking and baking are easy, as they allow kids and parents to unplug and connect, and they are fantastic learning tools (they build math and reading skills, teach scientific concepts, enrich oral vocabulary, and so much more). We used these cooking moments to keep our children away from videos and television when they were younger.  

These rustic, tasty mini apple tarts are a fun way to get kids cooking in the kitchen and a great way to spend quality time together as a family. This recipe is forgiving and lends itself to any fruit on hand, including frozen fruit. (We have not tried this recipe with frozen fruit, but by all means, go for it and let us know how it worked out). We had apples that we needed to use, which were the fruit of choice, but instead of one pie, we made several mini tarts so everyone could take pride in their creations. 

I usually make this apple pie recipe with our Cherchies® Apple Butter Spread instead of sugar. Considering we had half-full jars of our butter spreads (Apple, Cherry, and Strawberry), we decided to use the ones we had on hand, and we created several different tarts with the chopped apples. The icing and the lemon zest at the end finished off this dessert nicely.  

So, if you're looking for a creative family activity, unplug the electronics and consider making these delectable Cherry Apple Pie Tarts with your loved ones to create some beautiful memories together. They are perfect as a tasty dessert, a delicious breakfast treat, or an after-school snack. 

Thanks for stopping by! Please comment below on your creations. We'd love to hear your ideas:). Come back again for more family-tested recipes, entertaining ideas, and cooking tips using all our favorite Cherchies® gourmet products.

Follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

* Note- I forgot to add the lemon zest when photographing these little tarts.  

Ingredients

• 2 packages refrigerated pie crust

• 6 medium Granny smith apples (or your favorite apples), peeled and chopped into small chunks

• Zest of one lemon (optional)

• Juice of 1 lemon, divided

• 1/2 jar Cherchies® Cherry Butter Spread (could substitute Cherchies® Apple Butter Spread or Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread

• 6 Tablespoons Apricot Preserves

• Cinnamon

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon water

• Parchment paper

Preparation

Chop apples into small chunks.  Place chopped apples into a large bowl and add half of the lemon juice. Mix apples to coat with lemon juice.  Add Cherchies® Cherry Butter Spread (I divided the chopped apples into three bowls and added a different butter spread to each bowl) and mix together.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove pie dough from package and "smoosh" (ha!) the dough together until you have one ball of dough.  Separate dough into 6 equal portions (I was going to trace dough with a small bowl and cut out circles, but figured I'd have to reroll the scraps anyway).

Roll out individual dough balls into circles approximately 6 inch circles (it does not have to be perfect...this adds to the rustic factor).  Place rolled dough onto baking sheet.

Leaving about 1 inch around the edge of the dough, spoon apple mixture into center of dough.  Crimp edges around tart. Sprinkle tarts with cinnamon.  Bake tarts in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until crust is golden and apples are soft.

As tarts are cooking, prepare the glaze and the icing.   In one bowl, combine the Apricot Preserves and the remaining lemon juice.  In another bowl, combine the powdered sugar and water.  

Remove the cooked tarts from the oven and while the tarts are warm, brush them with the Apricot Preserves and the lemon juice mixture.  The final step is the icing and completely optional, as the tarts are delicious on their own, but I wanted to make them extras pretty for their "glamour shots".  Drizzle the icing when tarts are mostly cooled.

For other uses for apple butter, check out our blog, blog.cherchies.com.  Enjoy!

View fullsize

Pretty Pepper Roll-Up Recipe

View fullsize

Pretty Pepper Roll-Up Recipe

You had me at bacon!  These easy breezy appetizers are perfect for unexpected company. Just grab your Pretty Peppers (we keep several jars on hand in our pantry) off the shelf and you're ready to go!

Ingredients

• 1  8 oz. block of Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1 jar Cherchies®Pretty Peppers, drained (or for a spicier version, try our Pretty Hot Peppers
• White Bread, crusts trimmed
• Bacon (cut into halves)
• Cherchies® Champagne Mustard

Preparation

Trim crust from fresh white bread.  Mix cream cheese with Pretty Peppers and spread on bread. Cut bread into thirds lengthwise.  

Roll each piece of bread and wrap a half of a slice of bacon around each roll.

Place bacon rolls on baking sheet and bake in oven for 350 degrees until bacon is done.

Serve with our Champagne Mustard.  Enjoy!