These Goat Cheese Cigars are elegant, can be made ahead and are the perfect appetizer for your next holiday party. Keep reading for the recipe and tutorial!
If you find yourself making the same appetizers every year, switch it up a bit with these Goat Cheese Cigars. Flaky filo pastry gets filled with goat cheese, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of thyme and rolled up into these impressive appetizers.
We tried making some ahead of time and freezing them and I’m happy to say it was a success! In fact, I suggest making a double batch and freezing them – this will help you get prepared for all that company AND will let you use up any extra filo pastry that you may have. Just freeze on a baking sheet, gently transfer into a resealable container once frozen and bake from frozen whenever you need them.
Note that filo pastry dries up really quickly, so you will want to keep it covered with a slightly damp clean dish towel. Otherwise it will get crumbly and you won’t be able to roll it. Since a picture is worth a thousand words here is a step by step on how to make these below.
For other holiday appetizers using filo pastry try these adorable mini quiches or this smoked salmon version or make this If you need a few other ideas try these Crab Cakes with Home-made Tartar Sauce or these Roasted Rosemary Nuts. If you’re looking for an A-Z entertaining guide, we put together a Fraiche Table: Holiday Appy Party that takes you through it all (including a hostess schedule and grocery list).
Goat Cheese Cigars
Goat Cheese Cigars
Flaky filo, savoury goat cheese, and sweet honey come together with thyme for a delicious and impressive appetizer! Bake these just before guests arrive for the best results.
Ingredients
- 10 sheets filo dough
- 2 tablespoons liquid honey
- 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (plus extra sprigs for garnish)
- 1/2 cup melted butter or extra virgin olive oil
- 175 grams goat cheese* (3/4 cup)
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 375 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Take 1 filo sheet and brush with melted butter or olive oil. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the filo length ways into 2 rectangles.
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Starting at the shorter edge of one of your filo pieces, place a heaping teaspoon of goat cheese and press it into a long skinny 'log', leaving a 1" border of pastry. Drizzle the goat cheese with a small amount (around 1/2 teaspoon) of honey and sprinkle a few thyme leaves (about 1/4 teaspoon) at the opposite end of the goat cheese.
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Starting at the goat cheese end, roll the log up tightly 1/2 way, fold in each side (like a burrito) and contine rolling. Seal the edge closed by brushing it with a small amount of melted butter or olive oil. Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all of the cigars are assembled.
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Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes
*substitute feta cheese if you don't like goat cheese.
If you try these Goat Cheese Cigars let us know how you liked them in the comments below!
Great recipe! I overbaked them (11 mins) and they exploded out the goat cheese. They were perfect at 10 mins but I was trying to brown them… won’t do that again! 1 tsp is the right amount of goat cheese. Don’t put more.
These are AMAZING. I made them as an appetizer for an early family Christmas dinner and everyone devoured them AND asked for the recipe. To make my life easier I made them the day before and put them in the freezer until I was ready to bake them. I didn’t cover them and the filo pastry flaked up a little in the freezer, but they still looked nice once they were baked and the cheese didn’t ooze out. I also used a peppered goat cheese log instead of a plain goat cheese log and I think it created the perfect balance of spice, sweet, and savoury. Fun fact: they pair perfectly with a glass of dry champagne. I will be making a big supply of these and keeping them in my freezer for unexpected guests and any future dinner parties.
Love love love these! Everyone I’ve served them to has demanded I share the recipe too. Delicious!
I love that thank you Erin!!!
How long do I bake them if they are frozen?
Hi Gabriela, for around the same amount of time or 1-2 minutes longer, just until they are golden! We didn’t find a significant increase in bake time.
Hello, would you advise freezing them uncooked or cooked?
Hi Stuart, I would freeze them uncooked, great question!