Honey Blue Moons

By David TisueAppetizers, Baking, Pastry
Honey Blue Moons

Buttery, flakey, crunchy with a hint of Honey and cheese.

Sometimes I want something salty and a little sweet as an appetizer to go with cocktails. I was trying to come up with a different pastry nibble and thought of blue cheese and honey to go with the Bees Knees. The end result is these tasty crescent moon bites that I find addictive. These honey blue moons are crunchy, salty and sweet with blue cheese, toasted walnuts and a delicious hint of honey. The blue cheese in these pastries gives a distinct tangy cheese flavor without over powering and yet that distinctive blue cheese flavor.

The dough is really easy to make in a food processor, it only takes 5 minutes or so. It does need to chill for an hour or two. But rolls out beautifully. The filling however was a quandary for me the first time I made them the filling ran out everywhere, it took me several tries to get it right. I ended up kind of making a honey walnut toffee and chopping it up to add instead of plain honey and that did the trick. One thing I also learned is to make sure you crimp the edges really well. The honey toffee is a bit tricky to chop up, but, it made all the difference.

They can be frozen and baked right out of the freezer, which makes them great for Do Ahead treats. All you need to finish them off is to glaze them and toss on the finely chopped walnuts.

I’d pair these crunchy savory bites with some great olives maybe some grapes, and of course a Grilled Lemon Bees Knees. Check out the post here to see the recipe and to learn more about how to participate in giving to these Bee organizations during Bees Knees Week.

Bee Knees Week

Overhead Blue Moons
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Honey Blue Moons
Total Time
1 min
 

Blue cheese Pastries filled with blue cheese, walnuts and honey

Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Servings: 48 Blue Moons
Ingredients
  • 1/2 lb crumbly blue cheese such as Gorgonzola or Danish or Stilton grated
  • 3 cups all-pourpose flour
  • 1 cup butter, cut into small pieces 2 sticks
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 2 large eggs
Filling
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1/3 lb crumbly blue cheese such as Gorgonzola or Danish or Stilton chopped or crumbled
Topping and Glaze
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped untoasted walnuts
Instructions
To make the dough

  1. Place the flour, butter, salt, and pepper in a food processor and pulse several times. 

  2. Add in the Gorgonzola and again pulse until it resembles coarse meal 30 seconds more. 

  3. Add the eggs and process just until the dough barely starts to clump together, try not to overwork the dough.

  4. Transfer to a clean work surface and scrape any extra bits from the processor bowl. Form the dough into a ball, it may seem dry and crumbly at first, but, if you push it against the surface it will come together quickly. Try not to overwork the dough. There should still be small bits of butter and cheese in the dough. 

  5. Divide and form the dough into 2 disks, about ½ inch thick each. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

  6. Allow the dough to warm up for a few minutes before rolling.

To make the filling

  1. Lightly butter a sheet pan. 

  2. Heat the honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes, it will be very foamy.

  3. Add the walnuts and pour onto the buttered sheet pan. The toffee will harden as it cools. Let cool completely. 

  4. Crumble or finely chop the blue cheese. Chop up the honey walnut toffee into ¼ inch pieces or smaller, it will be a little sticky, that’s ok. Combine the chopped toffee and the blue cheese. 

    Filling

  5. Roll out one of the disks of the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter cut as many circles as you can. You can re-roll this dough several times if need be. You should get 24 from each disk of dough.

    dough Circles

  6. In a small bowl or measuring glass; beat the egg very well and brush the tops of each circle, reserving the remaining egg for glazing. 

  7. Place 1-2 teaspoons of the toffee blue cheese mixture on to each circle. Fold over each circle in half and crimp the edges well to seal. 

    Filling on Blue Moons

  8. Repeat with the second disk of dough. 

  9. At this point the pastries can be chilled or frozen or baked directly. 


When ready to bake the pastries off

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°

  2. Line baking sheet with parchment or Silpat. Or you may spray the baking sheet. 

  3. Place the pastries 2 inches apart.

  4. Brush each with beaten egg and sprinkle the untoasted finely chopped walnuts over the glaze.

  5. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until just golden brown, try not to over brown as they can get bitter.

  6. Let cool briefly. Serve with more honey if desired.