Goat Cheese Crostini with Macadamia Nuts and Honey

This Goat Cheese Crostini is an elegant and easy appetizer. Perfect for cocktail nibbles, it's topped with macadamia nuts and drizzled with honey. It seems fancy, but it's so simple.

Happy Yule, friends. Today is the shortest day of the year. That means that from tomorrow, even though we're about to head into the depths of winter, each day will actually get a little bit longer until we hit the summer solistice in June. Given the fact that it's dark when I go to work and dark when I get off, I think this is definitely something to celebrate.

It's also a great time to throw a little feast with friends, in times when it's safe to do so, of course. Yule is a great day for the Christmas version of Friendsgiving. Make a Yule Log cake or Buche de Noel, put some mulled wine on the stove, and light a roaring fire to stave off the long night. We can plan for next year. Surely, we'll be able to celebrate by then.

Since we're planning a feast, may I suggest this Goat Cheese Crostini with Macadamia Nuts and Honey? This is a ridiculously easy recipe. It's mainly spreading and scattering. In fact, if you buy your crostini instead of toasting the bread yourself, you don't even have to cook anything. If you want to impress your friends but don't have any actual kitchen skills, this is the recipe for you.

The herby goat cheese, and the crunchy, buttery macadamia nuts are elevated by the whisper of sweetness from a drizzle of honey. It's totally not weird. If you have a honey made from the flowers of herbs, like thyme honey, use that. Any honey will work, though. Also, if you live in a place where you can get flavored mac nuts (aloha to all my friends in Honolulu) I like to use a Maui onion flavor here. But if you can't get them, (sorry everyone else) plain mac nuts are still awesome.

How to make Goat Cheese Crostini

Like I said, this is insanely simple. If you want to save time, just buy crostini. Your grocery store bakery will often sell them to use up day old bread. If you can't buy them, simply slice a baguette or similar bread into half-inch slices and place them on a baking sheet. Put them in a low oven, say 300 F (150 C) for about ten minutes a side. Keep an eye on them. You want them to dry out and get crunchy, but you don't want too much color.

Then all that's left is to spread an herbed goat cheese onto each crostini, then scatter with chopped macadamia nuts and drizzle with honey. That's literally all there is to it. You want a soft, spreadable goat cheese. If you can't find that, an herby soft cheese like Boursin works great, too. You don't want to make these too far ahead, but they don't take long.

I'm planning lots of feasts and celebrations in my head. Someday, we'll get together again, and I'll make you some Goat Cheese Crostini with Macadamia Nuts and Honey. And maybe a Kir Royale. It'll be awesome, friends.

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