5-Ingredient Goat Cheese And Apricot Appetizer Recipe

It's always useful to have a few good appetizer recipes in your arsenal, especially ones you can throw together quickly. Whether you're running late for a potluck with friends or you simply forgot to plan a menu for your family reunion, hors d'oeuvres make any occasion feel thoughtfully put-together and complete. Not to mention, they can feed an increasingly impatient crowd. 

The recipe for these five-ingredient goat cheese and apricot appetizers was developed by Michelle McGlinn to be fast, easy, pretty, and unique. Dried apricots are topped with creamy herbed goat cheese and candied pecans, making for a hors d'oeuvre both enjoyably sweet and perfectly savory. Think of them as less of a dessert and more of a pre-dinner snack. Because of that sweet-savory balance, these bite-sized hors d'oeuvres are good year-round, whether served with a rich autumn sangria or sparkling springtime rosé. The best part? Not only are they just five ingredients, but they also come together in just over five minutes, too.

To begin this recipe you'll need goat cheese. In a pinch, you can use crumbled goat cheese, which is often sold in containers next to other crumbled cheeses like feta and blue. Better though is to use a soft, spreadable log of goat cheese, which is usually found near the charcuterie-board cheeses like Brie and Camembert. Pick up a small log of plain goat cheese, then grab fresh thyme sprigs, honey, salt, dried apricots, and candied pecans.

In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, thyme, honey, and salt until smooth.

Dollop 1 teaspoon of the goat cheese mixture onto each apricot.

Top each dollop with a pecan.

Candied pecans are the secret to making good recipes great. While you could, in a pinch, use plain pecans (we recommend salted, at the very least), candied pecans add a nutty-sweet flavor that complement the fruity apricots in this recipe. Candied pecans are coated in sugar and spices that harden into a sweet, caramelized exterior when cooked. With premade, store bought candied pecans, this recipe is a breeze, requiring no heat and very little prep. Though if you have the time, there are two easy methods to making candied pecans.

With such a small amount needed for this recipe (though you might want to make more just to snack on), we recommend stovetop candied pecans. To do this, simply simmer brown sugar and spices down to a syrup, add the pecans, and transfer the candied nuts onto a piece of parchment paper to cool down and harden. You'll want to do this ahead of time to allow the nuts to dry, but the total time for the candied pecans will just be about 35 minutes. 

Once you've mastered our candied pecan recipe, experiment with different spices to elevate your apricot appetizer game. Try cayenne for a touch of heat, or sprinkle in chopped rosemary for an even more herbal flavor. (Think wintery warmth.) Making your pecans from scratch can be a great way to customize such a simple app.

The sweet, savory, and herbal blend of goat cheese, fresh thyme, honey, and salt can also be stuffed into dates and topped with crisp bacon. Additionally, It's wonderful spread atop baked sweet potato slices. You can even fill baked phyllo cups with it. This goat cheese filling is so versatile, you can double or triple the batch and use it for a number of your appetizers so that they are all ready to go at once.

And if you love the sweet-savory herbed honey goat cheese but dried apricots aren't your thing, you can recreate similar versions of this appetizer in other ways. Most simply, try switching the apricots out for toasted crostini or small water crackers. Add a dollop of apricot jam for a similarly fruity touch of sweetness, and garnish with an extra few leaves of thyme or a swirl of honey. (Try hot honey for a spicy kick.)