Pear & Bleu Cheese Puffs

Recipe from Treasure Cave® Blue Cheese (800-444-6101)

Ingredients:

1/2 package (17 oz.) frozen puff pastry (1 sheet)
2 ripe Bartlett pears, cored, peeled, chopped
2 Tbs. sugar, optional
4 oz. crumbled blue cheese
dried cherries or cranberries

Preparation:

Thaw puff pastry 30 minutes at room temperature. Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a 14-inch square. Cut into 36 equal squares. In mini-muffin pans, gently push one pastry square into each cup. (Bake part of a batch at a time if you own just one mini-muffin pan.)

In a small bowl, toss pears in the sugar, if desired. Divide pears and blue cheese evenly among pastry cups. Top with 2 or 3 dried cherries or cranberries per cup.

To make ahead, cover and refrigerate, but bake just before serving. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and puffy. Serve warm.

Variation: To make savory bites, substitute sliced olives or chopped walnuts for dried cherries.

Yield: 36 bites