Blue Cheese and Pear Appetizers

Close up of Blue Cheese and Pear Appetizer.

Tasty rye toasts topped with creamy blue cheese, homemade pear compote and toasted hazelnuts. The perfect starter for a delicious meal!

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Course: appetizers

Cuisine: Danish, Nordic, Scandinavian

Keyword: easy appetizer, pear compote, smørrebrød, winter

Prep Time: 20

Total Time: 20

Servings: appetizers

Calories: 56kcal

Author: Kristi

Ingredients

▢ 16 slices rye bread (about 1 loaf) cut into small circles with a biscuit cutter or into triangles
▢ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
▢ Coarse salt
▢ ½ cup hazelnuts
▢ creamy blue cheese for spreading
▢ Simple Pear Compote

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the bread rounds or triangles evenly between two rimmed baking sheets. Brush the bread with butter and season with salt. Bake the toasts until darker brown in color and beginning to crisp up around the edges, about 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans half way through. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. (Toasts can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature).
Place nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant and golden brown. Transfer nuts to a clean kitchen towel and wrap them inside allowing them to steam for a few minutes. Rub the nuts between the kitchen towel to remove the skins (don’t worry if all the skins come off). Chop nuts coarsely. (The hazelnuts can be toasted and chopped up to 3 days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature).
Top the rye toasts with smear of blue cheese, a dollop of the Simple Pear Compote and a sprinkling of toasted hazelnuts. Serve.

Notes

Assemble the appetizers about an hour before you plan to serve them (see the recipe for instructions for making and storing the component ahead of time).

If you make the rye toasts in advance and they get soggy, simply pop them in a 400 degree oven until they are crisp again (about 3 minutes).

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