Date Filled Cheese Pastries Recipes

Steps:

• Let the cheese and margarine stand in a bowl at room temperature until softened.
• Cut in the flour and pepper as for pie dough.
• Slit the dates; stuff with the pecan halves.
• Flatten a small amount of dough in the palm of the hand.
• Wrap a date in the dough, sealing completely.
• Repeat with the remaining dough and dates.
• Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until light brown.
• Store between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Add butter; stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened (dough will be crumbly).
• Shape dough into ball.
• Make a lengthwise slit into each date and stuff with a pecan half. press a generous tablespoon of cheese mixture around each date, covering it completely.
• Cover and chill for 45 minutes (you can cover and freeze dates up to 1 month and thaw in the refrigerator before baking).
• Place dates on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Toast pistachios in a dry small skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 5-8 minutes. Let cool slightly, then finely chop.
• Mix goat cheese, salami, and lemon zest in a medium bowl.
• Slice dates in half lengthwise, taking care not to cut all the way through, and open like a book. Stuff each date with a small scoop of goat cheese mixture.
• Arrange dates, filling side up, on a large plate or platter. Drizzle honey over and top with pistachios.

Steps:

• Make dough:
• In a food processor blend butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add flour and salt and pulse just until mixture forms a ball. Form dough into a log. Chill dough, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.
• Make filling:
• Finely chop dates and walnuts and in a bowl with your hands toss together dates, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla until combined well.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cut dough crosswise into 8 equal pieces and work with 1 piece at a time, keeping remaining pieces covered and chilled. On a work surface sprinkled with confectioners' sugar using a rolling pin dusted with confectioners' sugar, roll out piece of dough into an 8-inch round. Cut round into 8 wedges, keeping round intact.
• Sprinkle 1/3 cup filling in a ring around outer portion of round, leaving a 1-inch border around edge, and press filling gently into dough. Working with 1 wedge at a time, fold outer edge of pastry over filling and roll up filling in pastry, jelly-roll fashion, folding sides under pastry to enclose filling. Transfer rugelach, as formed, pointed ends down, to ungreased baking sheets. Make more rugelach in same manner.
• Bake rugelach in batches in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 15 to 20 minutes total. Transfer rugelach to racks to cool completely. Rugelach keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.

Steps:

• Stir together goat cheese, 2 tablespoons pistachios, and chives in a small bowl until smooth. Season with pepper.
• Arrange the dates, cut sides up, on a platter. Fit a pastry bag with a large round tip, and fill with goat-cheese mixture. Pipe mixture onto each date half to cover. (Alternatively, pipe goat-cheese mixture using a resealable plastic bag with 1 inch cut off of one corner, or simply spread mixture on dates with a butter knife.) Garnish dates with remaining tablespoon pistachios and more chives.