Eat Skinny Superbowl Edition: Mini Gouda Apple Honey Puffs

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Before we begin, I have to share a few photographs.

Welcome to the dreams I’ve been having the past 3 days. Like clockwork, whenever my eyes shut and I reach that deep REM sleep, my dreams take me onto the pristine beaches of the Caribbean, where I do such things as ride on boats, play bongos with the natives and rollick around with 6 pack abs (it’s a dream, duh). Then, when I’m awoken by the sound of the horrendous alarm, I’m back here.

Le sigh. Whenever I have dreams like that, it’s always a sign I’m getting a little stir crazy and complacent. So, it looks like it’s time to plan a trip. Where? Not sure yet, but I’ll let you know when I find out.

NOW, onto fun, delicious things, like skinny Super Bowl apps! I love the Super Bowl but the food is always so….boring. Same ol dips, same ol’ main course, blech. So, this year, I decided to up the ante on my menu and create one filled with gourmet little finger foods and healthy, hearty chili’s. To kick off this great week of apps, I bring you…

Chive, apple, gouda and honey stuffed pockets. Fluffy, crispy and perfectly gooey, these are perfect fancy finger foods for your Super Bowl soiree.

I know Gouda and apple aren’t often front runners in the Super Bowl menu, but trust me, they should be. The tartness of the apple, the sweetness of the honey and smokiness of the Gouda makes the perfect flavor combination. Plus, nestled inside a flaky phyllo shell and you have some perfect little pockets.

In addition to being awesome, these little pockets are super light. Each little puff has less than 100 calories and 5 grams of fat.

Definitely beats that bright orange Velveeta crap any day, but maybe that’s just me 🙂

Recipe adapted from Food Network. 

Mini Gouda Apple Honey Puffs

Prep time: 55 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yields: 24 triangles

Ingredients:

  • 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry
  • 1/2 green apple, finely chopped
  • 2 ounces smokey Gouda cheese
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon chives
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

  • Defrost puff pastry by removing it from the package and letting sit, room temperature, for about 40 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
  • Unroll pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 4inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half down the middle to create 24 triangles.
  • Mix apples, chives and honey together. Add salt. Scoop about 1/2 teaspoon apple mixture into the bottom of the largest part of the triangle. Place one piece of cheese on top and fold pastry shell so that the bottom is closed but the top remains open, like a pocket. Repeat until all shells are filled.
  • Bake for at least 15 minutes or until shells are golden brown. Enjoy with extra honey or on their own!

Nutritional information per triangle: 95 calories, 5 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of protein, 1 gram of dietary fiber and 3 Weight Watchers Points Plus points.

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Comments

  1. Posted by Kelly on
    Monday, January 30th, 2012
    Ohh wow these look amazing!  I love baking with puff pastry, I'll have to make these!
  2. Posted by Kim Waters on
    Monday, January 30th, 2012
    My mouth is watering already! I will definitely be adding this to my list even beyond entertaining for the big game.
  3. Posted by Stephsbitebybite on
    Monday, January 30th, 2012
    These are gorgeous!! What a great way to jazz up a superbowl party!
  4. Posted by Lauren on
    Monday, January 30th, 2012
    these look amazing!
  5. Posted by Liz @ Southern Charm on
    Monday, January 30th, 2012
    I absolutely LOVE this recipe that that they are mini puffs! Thanks so much for sharing!!
  6. Monday, January 30th, 2012
    Thats a pretty great dream. Stupid alarm clock! Those puff pastry things look pretty spectacular. 
  7. Posted by Amanda on
    Monday, January 30th, 2012
    I agree- smoky gouda and sweet apple compliment each other perfectly. Forget about the game, I want to eat these everyday!
  8. Posted by Kiri W. on
    Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
    Oooh, these look so yummy! :) Love the honey addition to the classic cheese & apple combo. Perfect little bites!
  9. Posted by Lizzy Do on
    Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
    Oh, how delicious!!! Definitely NOT boring...these would disappear quickly at any party :)
  10. Posted by amy donovan on
    Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
    gouda is in the running for my favorite cheese, so i think these bad boys look delicious. + i couldn't agree more that bright orange velveeta does nothing to excite my appetite. blegh! these are a zillion times better-looking (+ definitely tastier, i'm sure) than velveeta any day of the week!
  11. Posted by Ravienomnoms on
    Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
    Such a nice take on the Superbowl snacks! I always love seeing things that are different and have more flavor than the regular nacho cheese goop and ranch tip. Thanks for sharing!
  12. Posted by Donna on
    Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
    I could see this being made into a single large tart (for simplicity's/laziness sake) and subbing philo or "brick" pastry for even more caloric savings..even sarrasin galettes/crepes for the base to make it gluten free!...Wonderful idea...you've helped me out immensely with the apple idea as my husband does not care for the pear/chèvre/thyme tart I (and the children) love...because of his general distaste for pears in any form!!..Beautiful blog by the way... 
  13. Posted by Spiceblogger on
    Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
    O.M.G!  These look delicious!  I think I will have to make these to take to our superbowl party.  Love the mixture of flavors--Genious!
  14. Posted by Ally on
    Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
    These sound exquisite! Perfect flavor pairings.
    xo
    http://allykayler.blogspot.com
  15. Posted by Cucina49 on
    Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
    Those are spectacular--I am bookmarking the recipe to remember to try it!
  16. Posted by Jen on
    Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
    That sounds a million times better to me than traditional game food!  And they look beautiful too!
  17. Posted by Katherine Martinelli on
    Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
    Yum, I love the combo of cheese and apples! Great super bowl snack, although also perfectly elegant for entertaining! Congrats on Top 9 :-)
  18. Posted by E & M Mills on
    Saturday, August 18th, 2012
    My sister and I had a great day making these with the fresh apples from our apple tree! Some small changes we made (because we're a little broke) were: we used filo dough instead of pastry dough and split the filo stack into thirds. We didnt use chives but shredded the gouda and added quite a bit on top of the apple mix (I like more so it seeps out a little and is extra savory). We also added some cinnamon to the apple mix with half of them, an interesting addition, but good! The Gouda wasn't smoked but my oven caught on fire half way through (yes that happened) so we got a smokey taste anyway! :) We brushed the filo triangles with butter and sprinkled sugar on top...so awesome!!
    Thanks for the great idea...now just to get them orange and blue for bronco season!!!