Harvest season is in full swing and the flavors of autumn are abundant. However, while latte lovers line up for pumpkin spice flavored coffee, I’m hunkering down at home with an assortment of dry-hopped, mulled and traditional-style ciders instead.
With so many small batch ciders available for consumption, keeping the fridge stocked with a variety is good practice this time of year (or any time of year)—especially since cider complements sweet and savory dishes so well. Cider can be used to braise your favorite meats, reduced to drizzle over your favorite desserts and infused into whatever other culinary creations you can dream up.
Ideal for harvest and Halloween parties, you may want to make a double batch of these cider-infused bacon and onion pinwheels—they go fast. Accentuated by the crisp, off-dry true apple flavor of Caledon, Ontario-based Spirit Tree Estate Cidery‘s Draught Cider, these flaky, flavorful apps are the perfect balance of savory and sweet. Pinched for time? Make the bacon jam in advance.
Prep time: 35 minutes
Bake time: 15 minutes
Makes: About 24 pinwheels
Ingredients:
10 strips bacon, chopped
1 large yellow onions, diced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Draught Cider
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 ounces crumbled feta
2 sheets ready-to-bake puff pastry (about 17 ounces)
Directions:
In a medium pan over medium heat, fry bacon until cooked but not crispy, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Reserve bacon grease and over medium heat, sauté onion until caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Once golden brown in color, return bacon to pan. Add brown sugar and cider, stirring constantly. Add thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir until mixture is even. Set aside. (This is the bacon jam.)
Preheat oven to 400°F. On a ready-to-bake puff pastry sheet, spread half of the bacon jam into an even layer, being careful to leave ¼- to ½-inch border around the edge of the dough. Top the bacon layer with half of the feta.
Roll up (like a jelly roll) and cut pinwheels into ½-inch slices. Place pinwheels on a lightly greased baking pan.
Repeat steps for assembling the pinwheels and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Photos by Margo Greenman
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