Caramelized Onion & Blue Cheese Puff Pastry Tarts

These puff pastry tarts are as elegant as they are delicious. Caramelized onions combine with tangy blue cheese and sweet fig jam to deliver a palate pleasing flavor your friends and family will love! Puff pastry makes this appetizer do-able within an hour and will impress everyone at the party!

Ingredients:

• 1 (17.3 oz.) package puff pastry, thawed in the fridge overnight
• 4 large yellow onions, halved, then thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon dry white wine
• Kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper
• 1 egg + 1 teaspoon water, beaten
• 3/4 cup fig jam
• 5 oz. blue cheese (crumbled)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• honey for drizzling

Instructions:

1. Heat butter and oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and and stir to coat in oil. You will cook the onions for 60 minutes total, stirring every 4-5 minutes or so.
2. After they’ve cooked for 10 minutes add a pinch of salt. After they’ve cooked for 40 minutes add a teaspoon of sugar. Be sure to keep stirring them every 4-5 minutes so they cook evenly.
3. After they’ve finished cooking for 60 minutes and are a gorgeous dark brown color, pour in the wine and deglaze the pan (scrape all the bits off the bottom), season with salt and pepper to taste, then set aside.
4. When the onions are nearing the end of the caramelizing process, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unwrap the puff pastry and cut along the seams of each sheet, creating 6 rectangles total.
5. Lightly flour your work surface and use a rolling pin to roll each piece into a 3.5″ x 12″ rectangle. Use a 3″ cookie cutter to make four tarts out of each rectangle. Transfer tarts to (2) parchment lined baking sheets.
6. Combine puff pastry scraps into a ball, roll them out to the same thickness as your previous tarts and use the cookie cutter to make 10-12 more tarts.
7. Arrange tarts on the two baking sheets about an inch apart. You will have 30-32 tarts total.
8. Use a 2″ cookie cutter to score each tart in the center, creating a half inch wide crust. Brush the crust portion of the tart with the egg wash.
9. Heat fig jam in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it becomes loose and spreadable. Spread a teaspoon or so of fig jam in the center of each tart.
10. Top that with a teaspoon or so of caramelized onions. And then, you guessed it, top that with a teaspoon or so of blue cheese. Divide thyme evenly between the tarts, sprinkling a few leaves in the center of each tart.
11. Bake tarts for 15-18 minutes or until the crust starts to get dark golden brown
12. Remove tarts from the oven and drizzle with honey. Serve warm and enjoy!