Twists and Cheese

I am letting you in on a little secret, one that will have your family circling the kitchen and begging for more – my (our) new favorite holiday recipe – cheesy bacon twists! Thank goodness these are quick and easy to make, because I guarantee you’ll be making more than one batch, especially with all the fun flavor profiles to dazzle with.

I found the original recipe while scrolling through my Instagram feed, and snapped a screenshot for later. As soon as I saw it I knew Jared would love it, it looked easy enough, and if it was like any of the other Half Baked Harvest recipes, it would be absolutely wonderful. My instincts were right – Jared loved it, it is darn near foolproof, and it was every bit of delicious.

The first time I made these twists, I followed the original recipe, which can be found here: Sweet and Savory Cheesy Bacon Wrapped Puff Pastry Twists. But as I was making these, my cheese brain was spinning…

I spend the bulk of days eating, thinking, and talking about cheese. Not just because it is one of the most delicious and diverse foods in the world (seriously, just four ingredients make up thousands of different varieties of cheese!), but because my job is all things cheese. Technically my title is “sales” but that bleeds over into brand management, product development, marketing, operations, and any other department or task that needs an extra hand. I enjoy the many hats I wear, and I love the freedom I have to create and learn. From market research, talking with leaders in the industry, tasting the world’s best cheese, and advising on new flavors (and subsequently testing the trials!), my mind is always working on new cheese flavors, pairings, and how use cheese in fun, tasty ways.

With that said, I divert back to these cheesy twists… they were scrumptious as-is, but with my special blue cheese sauce and the bold flavors in the Rumiano Redwood Coast Cheese line, I knew they could be taken to the next level.

And here we go –

Savory Twists

Ingredients:

• Sheet of puff pastry (thawed)
• 1 beaten egg
• 0.5-1 lb. of bacon
• 1-3 oz. blue cheese
• 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt
• 4 ounces of cream cheese (room temperature)
• Diced fresh onion or dried minced onion
• Diced fresh garlic
• Black pepper
• Salt or garlic salt (optional)
• Honey (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. You can also line a baking sheet with foil, but not necessary.
2. First up, make my special blue cheese sauce. (Save this sauce for future reference, you can use it on anything. It is Jared’s absolute favorite thing I make. Hint: I top our steaks with it… drool!)
3. Start by adding your cream cheese to a bowl, if it isn’t room temperature and warm enough to easily mix with a fork, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.
4. Next, add your blue cheese, yogurt, onion, garlic, black pepper, and salt (or garlic salt if you don’t feel like chopping fresh garlic). You will notice there are no specific measurements to the blue cheese, onion, garlic, pepper or salt, that’s because I cook by taste and heart. Start with a small amount, taste it, and adjust as necessary. I find this sauce is best when I taste and adjust. I tend to go heavier on the blue cheese because I like the stronger flavor. If you’re not as big of a blue cheese fan, go lighter.
5. Once your sauce is made, set it to the side and use a rolling pin to roll out a sheet of your thawed puff pastry. Puff pastry sheets aren’t normally super sticky, but to be cautious you can roll it out on a sheet of parchment paper so it doesn’t stick to the counter.
6. Next, grab that special blue cheese sauce and generously layer it on the sheet of puff pastry.
7. Fold the sheet in half, press the pieces together to be sure they’re “stuck”, and cut into approximately 1/2″ strips.
8. When you have your strips cut, grab a slice of bacon, lay it over the strip of puff pastry (cut off the excess at the end), and twist. Don’t twist too tightly or you can end up with some uncooked pieces of puff pastry within your twist. *Note: you don’t have to add bacon to every piece if you want to mix it up, or if you have some non-bacon lovers in the house (never met one of those people, but I heard they exist).
9. Lay the twisted pieces on a baking sheet, brush with egg, and bake for about 30 minutes. Depending on how hot your oven runs, start checking the twists at about 20 minutes, and when the bacon is cooked and the puff pastry is golden brown, they’re done! (I won’t lie, I overcooked these poor babies tonight and they are just not quite as good as the first time I made them – so learn from me and keep an eye on ’em!)
10. They will be hot, but as soon as they are cool enough to touch, dig in! Jared also loves to pair with a yummy homemade ranch, or you can drizzle with honey.

Spicy Twists

• Sheet of puff pastry (thawed)
• 1 beaten egg
• 0.5-1 lb. of bacon
• Rumiano Redwood Coast Borderline Blaze (or Rumiano Habanero Jack)
• Cayenne Pepper

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1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. You can also line a baking sheet with foil, but not necessary.
2. Shred the cheese, the original recipe calls for a cup, but if you’re like me you’ll want to add more.
3. Use a rolling pin to roll out a sheet of your thawed puff pastry. Puff pastry sheets aren’t normally super sticky, but to be cautious you can roll it out on a sheet of parchment paper so it doesn’t stick to the counter.
4. Next, brush the sheet of puff pastry with the beaten egg (this will help the cheese “stick”).
5. Sprinkle the cheese over the puff pastry. Gently push the cheese into the puff pastry, or HBH recommends using the rolling pin to gentle roll over the shredded cheese and push it into the pastry.
6. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne pepper.
7. Fold the sheet in half, press the pieces together to be sure they’re “stuck”, and cut into approximately 1/2″ strips.
8. When you have your strips cut, grab a slice of bacon, lay it over the strip of puff pastry (cut off the excess at the end), and twist. Don’t twist too tightly or you can end up with some uncooked pieces of puff pastry within your twist. *Note: you don’t have to add bacon to every piece if you want to mix it up, or if you have some non-bacon lovers in the house (never met one of those people, but I heard they exist).
9. Lay the twisted pieces on a baking sheet, brush with egg, and bake for about 30 minutes. Depending on how hot your oven runs, start checking the twists at about 20 minutes, and when the bacon is cooked and the puff pastry is golden brown, they’re done! (I won’t lie, I overcooked these poor babies tonight and they are just not quite as good as the first time I made them – so learn from me and keep an eye on ’em!)
10. They will be hot, but as soon as they are cool enough to touch, dig in!

I hope you enjoy these twists! And the endless possibilities. I could list out probably 20 other flavor options, but will leave you with these two for now! I’m also working on a sweet rendition… my first effort didn’t work out! But that’s part of the fun – trial and error. Stay tuned!

Let me know what you think, and share what cheeses and combinations you craft! I love to see all your creations, message me, tag me!

Cheers, and happy twisting.