Cranberry Pistachio Goat Cheese Log is a beautiful festive appetizer. It will look great on your cheese board, and it only takes 10 minutes to make! It is creamy, tangy, sweet, and luscious all in one bite.
With just 6 simple ingredients this holiday Goat Cheese Appetizer works great for entertaining! I love to make this for almost all the parties I am hosting during the Holidays, or bring it as a part of a potluck!
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Why I love to make this Appetizer?
- It is beautiful, but it really comes together in only 10 minutes
- An appetizer that works for your Holiday Cheese Board!
- Cranberries, Pistachios, Honey, and Orange zest are literally a match made in heaven!
- You should totally make this for your friends and family because it looks super fancy, but in reality, it is super easy to make.
Ingredients and Substitutes To Make This Cranberry Goat Cheese Log
- Goat Cheese - We will be using an 8-ounce Goat Cheese log for this recipe. The goat cheese is naturally gluten-free and gives a beautiful tart flavor. This cheese is perfect to serve on the cheese boards, because of its spreadable consistency.
- Cream Cheese - A little bit of cream cheese goes a long way in this recipe. It cups the tart and sharp flavors of the goat cheese beautifully and adds the perfect sweet creaminess to the recipe.
- Dried Cranberries - Use dried cranberries, but don't use fresh ones. You can substitute dried cranberries with other dried fruit like cherries, or apricots.
- Pistachios - Don't use Salted Nuts! Use raw, unsalted pistachios or pecans for this recipe.
- Orange Zest - Use a zester to zest the orange. It adds freshness to this appetizer, and you can substitute it with lime zest!
- Honey - Honey helps the ingredients to stick to the log, and sweetens this tangy log of cheese. Substitute with maple syrup.
How to Decorate the Goat Cheese Log?
Chop the cranberries and pistachios finely using a sharp knife. You can also add them to a food processor and run it on chop mode until it is finely chopped.
Take a big bowl. Add your finely chopped pistachios and dried cranberries to it.
Use a zester to zest the orange, and add it to the pistachios and dried cranberries. Next, add in the honey. Mix all the ingredients until well combined.
Now place the prepared log in the bowl. With your clean hands start pressing the prepared mix on the log, by rolling it.
Once the mix is stuck, your cranberry goat cheese log is ready!
Serving Instructions
This is not only delicious but also a beautiful and very festive-looking appetizer. So make it the star of your cheese board. Serve it with your favorite crackers, or freshly toasted crostinis. It tastes delicious with both! But I prefer crostinis. Make sure to place some beautiful cheese knives so it is easy to scoop and spread!
Serve some honey on the side too, for a beautiful drizzle! It elevates the taste of these to the next level!
Storage Instructions
Store it in the refrigerator for a day or two. Wrap it firmly in a cling wrap and place it in your refrigerator. The orange zest and honey will help to preserve it for two days.
Unwrap the cling wrap carefully 10 minutes before serving! Serve it at room temp, for the cheese to be creamy and spreadable!
More Holiday Recipes from the Blog
Cranberry Goat Cheese Log
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Equipment
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cheese Knife
Ingredients
- 8 Oz Goat Cheese
- 1 Oz Cream Cheese
- ⅓ Cup Pistachios
- ½ Cup Dried Cranberries
- 2 Tsp Orange Zest
- 2 Tbsp Honey
Instructions
- In a bowl mix together the goat cheese and cream cheese.
- Now lay a parchment paper in a tray. Add the cheese to it. Now with your clean hands, give it a shape of a log. Now roll the parchment paper and leave it in the refrigerator while we make the cranberry pistachio mix.
- Use a sharp knife to chop the dried cranberries and pistachios finely. Use a zester to zest the orange.
- Once the ingredients are ready, add them to a large bowl or a tray.
- Add honey, and give it all a mix, until well combined.
- Now take the prepared goat cheese log from the refrigerator and place it on the prepared mix.
- With clean hands start pressing the prepared mix onto the cheese log. Make sure you cover the goat cheese log with the pistachios and cranberry mix properly from all sides.
- Once done, serve it with crackers or crostinis!
Notes
- If you don't have cream cheese, it okay. Just use goat cheese. Although make sure to add a little more honey to cut the tartness of the goat cheese.
- Read the blog carefully
- Happy Holidays!
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