Butternut squash and goat cheese tart

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Butternut squash is a squash variety that has definitely increased in popularity, but I still don’t think people know entirely what to do with it. I like to roast the butternut squash so it’s a little crispy and caramelized. The resulting flavor is slightly sweet with a nutty flavor. It’s important to not overcrowd your roasting pan or the squash will produce too much steam and never get crisp.

I thought the squash would look beautiful in a puff pastry tart! First, I scored a 1/2-inch border around the puff pastry and docked the center with a fork so it doesn’t puff up too much.

Then I mixed equal amounts honey and butter, and I spread it all over the center. My favorite product to use when making honey butter is Challenge Spreadable Butter with Olive Oil and Sea Salt. First, it mixes so well and beautifully with honey. You don’t have to worry about bringing it to room temperature first. And it’s made with real Challenge Butter, which is churned from the freshest, purest cream. 

I then scattered the squash across the tart and paired it with tangy goat cheese and tart pomegranate arils. The flavors all complement each other so well, and the colors look so beautiful together!

Butternut squash and goat cheese tart

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 12 ounces butternut squash, diced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Challenge Spreadable Butter with Olive Oil and Sea Salt
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 sheet puff pastry (thawed)
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 3 Tablespoons walnuts (or pecans)
• 1 Tablespoon sage, chopped
• Egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon water)
• Optional: Pomegranate arils, pomegranate molasses, honey, dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Add butternut squash to baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
3. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
4. While butternut squash is roasting, mix butter and honey.
5. Roll out puff pastry on baking sheet. Score a 1/2-inch border around the edges (don’t cut all the way through) and prick the center all over with a fork.
6. Spread honey butter in center and top with goat cheese.
7. Scatter butternut squash, nuts, and sage over goat cheese.
8. Brush egg wash on puff pastry border.
9. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
10. Top with pomegranate arils and pomegranate molasses or dried cranberries and more honey if desired.

Peach dumplings stuffed with goat cheese and prosciutto

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I think we can all agree, there’s just something truly out of this world special about biting into a fresh, juicy peach. We all know peaches are delicious in pies and as sweet treats, so I wanted to show off their versatility with a dish that also incorporated their ability to pair well with more savory items.

Here’s what my Kylee brain came up with: I stuffed whole peaches with a goat cheese mixture, wrapped them in prosciutto, and then encased them in pie dough. But not just any pie dough—cheesy pie dough. Then I drizzled lemon thyme honey on top.

This dessert (we’ll call it a dessert even though it’s a perfectly acceptable breakfast, lunch, or dinner menu item) was inspired by Erin Jeanne McDowell’s whole apple dumpling recipe and golden cheese pie dough recipe from her book “The Book on Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies,” which I highly recommend.

First, let’s talk peaches. All types of peaches can be classified as freestone or clingstone. The pit in freestone peaches isn’t attached to the flesh, so it’s easy to remove. That’s what you want to buy! Whereas clingstone peaches have a pit that is attached to the flesh, making it difficult to prep for baking or cooking. For the most part, grocery stores usually sell freestone peaches, unless you’re trying to buy peaches out of season. Then sometimes they're clingstone. So keep that in mind when you want to make something with fresh peaches not in the summer months.

Also, there are white peaches and yellow peaches. White-fleshed peaches are lower in acid and have a more subtle, delicate taste than yellow peaches. That said, white peaches are great for eating, but not the best for baking because their flavor isn’t strong enough.

I purchased peaches from Meijer a few days ago, and I noticed there were two varieties of yellow peaches: yellow peaches from Ohio and yellow peaches from South Carolina. I purchased both varieties to test them out. The Ohio peaches were significantly smaller than the South Carolina peaches and their pit was a little harder to remove, but they tasted the same to me.

My least favorite thing about working with peaches is peeling them. Yes, there are a lot of tricks for making the process easier, but I still think it’s a pain. I would just rather not do it at all, and fortunately with this recipe you don’t have to.

Fruit paired with cheese is an absolutely divine combination. I can’t resist a sweet, savory, and salty combination. It may seem strange to add goat cheese to dessert, but this tangy cheese actually balances the sweet peaches perfectly. The creamy texture also makes it a great match, and it melts into the peaches while they bake. Additionally, the prosciutto slice around the peach takes this dessert over the top. You can certainly skip the prosciutto if you're a vegetarian. But I tried the dumplings with and without the prosciutto, and its addition makes the dessert just THAT much better.

Now, let's talk pie dough. You can absolutely buy pie dough or puff pastry from the store if you're short on time. But I highly recommend making this white cheddar pie dough. In fact, my husband William said it was his favorite part of the dessert! It's a basic pie dough recipe with the addition of shredded white cheddar cheese. I only use Challenge unsalted butter when I make pie dough. It is 100% real cream butter but with no salt added. You can truly smell the difference between Challenge butter and other butters.

I know some dumpling recipes want you to cut the pie dough into squares and pinch the corners together, but I prefer to just lift the dough and bring it to the top of the peach, repeating the process untill all of the pie dough comes together where the peach stem would be. The dough will naturally fold and pleat at the top. It's going to look like a dough softball.

I bake the dumplings on a rimmed baking sheet as opposed to a dish so that the hot air hits all sides of the dumplings, creating a crisp, golden crust. 

A simple honey drizzle is a great sweet topping for the dumplings, but I wanted something with a little more pizzazz for this extra special treat. So I stuck a few sprigs of thyme in a mason jar with lemon juice and half a cup of honey, heated it up, and voila, lemon and thyme infused honey! I highly recommend making a double batch and keeping it around to drizzle in your tea, on muffins, or other desserts.

Peach dumplings stuffed with goat cheese and prosciutto

Yield: 4 dumplings

Ingredients

For the pie dough

• 150 grams all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp (3 grams) salt
• 113 grams Challenge unsalted butter, cold, cut in 1/2” cubes
• 113 grams white cheddar cheese, shredded
• 60 grams cold water

For the filling

• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoons (40 grams) honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 yellow peaches, cut in half, pit removed
• 4 slices prosciutto

For the egg wash

• 1 whole egg
• 1 Tablespoon water

For the lemon thyme honey

• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (170 grams) honey

Directions

For the pie dough

1. Stir flour and salt together. Add cubes of butter and mix until butter is coated in flour. 
2. Cut butter into flour with hands or pastry cutter until butter is size of walnut halves. Alternative method: Add flour/butter mixture to food processor and pulse until butter is size of walnut halves. 
3. Stir in cheese.
4. Add water to flour mixture and use hands to mix until dough holds together easily. It shouldn't be totally smooth.
5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, form into disk, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Dough can be made up to 2 days in advance.

For the goat cheese filling

1. Mix everything but the peaches and prosciutto together. 
2. Use melon baller to scoop out some of the center of each peach half to make room for goat cheese filling.
3. Add about 2 Tablespoons of goat cheese filling to cavity of one peach half. Place other peach half on top. Wrap slice of prosciutto around peach. Repeat with remaining peaches.
4. Set aside while rolling out dough.

For assembly

1. Roll out pie dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4" thick. 
2. Cut dough into 4 even pieces. Place peach on center of one piece of dough. Gently pick up part of the dough and stretch it upward to top of peach. Continue all the way around the peach. Dough will pleat naturally. Lightly press dough down in the center at the top of the peach to seal.
3. Repeat with remaining peaches and transfer dumplings to refrigerator for about 15 minutes or until dough is firm.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Make egg wash by mixing together egg and water.
6. Remove dumplings from refrigerator and place on baking sheet. Brush dough with egg wash. Place in oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until dough is crisp and golden.
7. Remove dumplings from oven and cool for 5 minutes while you make honey.

For the lemon thyme honey

1. Stuff thyme sprigs into microwave-safe container and pour lemon juice on top. Add honey to container and heat in microwave for 2 minutes.
2. Drizzle honey over dumplings and serve.

Savory tomato and goat cheese corn cobbler

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I've been craving a savory cobbler ever since I made Blueberry Sweet Corn Cobbler for my family on the Fourth of July. I wanted to place an emphasis on using seasonal Indiana produce. Late summer is the peak of tomato season, so I thought tomatoes would be the perfect base for the filling of this cobbler. I added balsamic caramelized onions and goat cheese to the filling, which provided I really delightful contrast of flavors.

The emphasis of the role corn plays in this recipe is what makes it unique. The biscuits are comparable to cornbread; however, instead of using cornmeal to achieve the corn taste, I used the juiced from the fresh sweet corn.

I collected these juices by grating the uncooked corn with a box grater. It’s a messy process, but the milky, starchy pulp from the kernels is worth it.

Depending on the size and juiciness of your corn, you’ll need 3 to 4 ears to collect the 1 cup necessary for this recipe.

I used Challenge butter for the corn cobbler. What I like most about Challenge products is they use fresh, hormone-free milk, and they don't add any unnatural additives.

Tomato and goat cheese corn cobbler
Ingredients for the tomato filling

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup flour (30 grams)
• 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
• 8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 Tablespoon thyme, chopped
• 2 teaspoons rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Ingredients for the corn cobbler

• 1 1/4 cups flour (150 grams)
• 2/3 cup (100 grams) medium or coarse-ground yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold Challenge unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 4 ears sweet yellow corn, uncooked (about 1 cup liquid)
• 3 Tablespoons honey

Directions for the filling

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease inside of 8-by-8-inch square casserole dish. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over low heat.
3. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent and it starts to brown (but not burn), about 10 minutes.
4. Pour in balsamic vinegar and cook until it’s mostly evaporated, about 2 minutes.
5. Stir in flour so it forms a paste. 
6. Stir in tomatoes, goat cheese, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
7. Transfer mixture to baking dish, spread in even layer, and set aside.

Directions for the corn cobbler

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Cut in butter using pastry blender or hands until mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Using a box grater, grate corn in large bowl to collect its milky juices; discard corn cobs. Make sure your corn juice measures 1 cup. If not, grate another ear of corn.
4. Add corn juices to flour mixture and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.
5. Add honey and mix until you have a cohesive dough.
6. Use ice cream scoop to add cobbler on top of tomato filling.
7. Place casserole dish in oven and bake until cobbler biscuits are golden, about 30 to 35 minutes.
8. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Goat Cheese Cheesecake

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I love goat cheese with everything. Until this point, I’ve only used it in salads and as an appetizer with crackers, but I’ve been dreaming about pairing it with something sweet. 

I imagined a light, creamy dessert with fruit, and thus this no-bake goat cheese cheesecake was born.

I understand that the goat cheese can be a huge turnoff for people, and it’s not likely that I will convince you otherwise in this post. But at least let me tell you why goat cheese works in cheesecake.

First, the composition of goat cheese differs slightly from cheese from cows. Goat cheese has a lower concentration of milk protein which gives it a smoother, creamier texture, and it has a higher composition of fatty acids which makes it slightly tangy. 

The subtle tang and acidity from the goat cheese takes this cheesecake from sugary sweet to mildly sweet with some savory notes. It’s the perfect base for fruit topping, if you go that route.

Second, why not goat cheese? We’ve already had regular cheesecake. We know it’s delicious. People experiment with toppings and mix-ins all the time. So why not experiment with the type of cheese?

As you’ll see, this is a no-bake recipe. I went this route because I wanted the creaminess and lightness of the goat cheese to shine through. 

I made it in a tart pan because I thought it would look pretty, but you can use an 8-inch spring-form pan instead. Also, I spread the mixture into the pan using a piping bag. Once again, my only reason for going that route is I thought it would look pretty.

I will include the recipe for raspberry sauce, but I want to emphasize that you can top it however you please! Even a drizzle of honey would be tasty.

Goat cheese cheesecake

Ingredients

For the crust

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) Challenge butter, melted
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

For the filling

• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese, softened
• 8 ounces plain Greek yogurt
• 4 ounces goat cheese in a log (not crumbles)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the raspberry sauce

• 12 ounces raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon water

Directions

For the crust

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and brown sugar in bowl until you have a sand-like consistency.
2. Prepare your tart pan with nonstick spray and distribute the graham cracker crumbs into the pan, pressing it down firmly and evenly on the bottom and up the sides.
3. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

For the filling

1. In a large bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. 
2. Add Greek yogurt and goat cheese and beat until smooth again.
3. Add powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla, and mix until everything is incorporated.
4. Remove crust from refrigerator, and spread mixture into pan, either using a spatula or a piping bag.
5. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the raspberry sauce

1. Combine raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and water in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir mixture until it comes to a boil, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and press sauce through a fine-mesh strainer to remove seeds. 
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve with cheesecake.