It’s beginning to smell like the holidays! And what better way to celebrate with friends and family than with beautiful hors d’oeuvres, like my recipe for mini mushroom tarts with a goat cheese mousse and balsamic glaze!
Yesterday was extremely stressful. Like to the max! First of all: the hubby and I are currently enjoying the Food and Wine Festival at Disney’s EPCOT. So all is well 🙂 But yesterday… oh boy.
We awoke super early as we both realized fairly last minute that we could both have Friday off. And so in the hopes of flying standby on a much earlier flight, we awoke at the crack of dawn (okay actually like two hours before the crack of dawn, ugh!) to head to the airport. Three times we tried to fly standby before finally getting two seats on a noon flight down to the happiest place on earth. Suffice it to say, flying + stressful situations makes me a complete wreck, but we finally made it down here and are having an amazing time!
Related: My Top 10 Favorite Places to Eat and Drink in Disney World
Yesterday for dinner we dined on several of the offerings from the various Food and Wine Festival booths. Seriously this is even a thousand times more amazing than I had envisioned in my head. Walking around my favorite Disney park, noshing on all sorts of tasty treats and drinking all sorts of yummy wines and cocktails, with a few attractions thrown in here and there: that is my kind of park day! I think my favorite part is that the portion sizes are like tapas style, which means we get to taste and try a bunch of different things!
And so today I’m bringing you a little mini treat of my own, perfect for tasting at your next dinner party! These mini mushroom tarts are 1) super easy and 2) super delicious. Like “definitely making them for Thanksgiving. And our holiday dinner party. And Christmas Eve.” delicious. I cut circles out of regular pie dough crust and popped them in some muffin tins. Into the oven with those guys to make these cute little pie cups! Then I filled them with mushrooms sautéed with thyme, garlic, and balsamic before topping them with a garnish of light goat cheese mousse and some tangy balsamic glaze. These are such a winner for the winter!
Related: Mini Chicken and Waffles Hors D’Oeuvres
Now it’s your turn: What is your favorite hors d’oeuvres to serve for the holidays? Share with me by commenting below!
- 1 sheet of pie dough
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 8 oz. gourmet mushroom blend (or your favorite mushrooms) minced
- ½ tsp. fresh thyme, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- ⅛ tsp. kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp. group black pepper
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 4 oz. goat cheese
- 3-4 tbsp. heavy cream
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- Balsamic glaze, for garnish
- Fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish
- Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Cut 2 ¾" circles out of the pie dough using a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. Press one pie dough circle into each muffin holder and use your fingers to mold the dough into a cup-like shape. Repeat with the rest of the muffin tins. Brush each pie dough cup lightly with egg wash. Bake in heated oven for 15 minutes until pie dough is just golden brown.
- While pie dough tarts are cooking, prepare mushrooms. In a medium sized sauté pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium high heat. Add gourmet mushrooms and sauté until they are softened, about 5-6 minutes. Add thyme and garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, stirring often. Deglaze the pan with white wine and balsamic vinegar, using a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow to simmer about 5-6 minutes until most of the liquid is evaporated. Season with salt and black pepper as desired.
- When mushroom mixture is finished, transfer spoonfuls of the mixture to each mini tart. Cook in oven for 5 minutes.
- While tarts are cooking, prepare goat cheese mousse. Add goat cheese, heavy cream, and salt to a stand mixture fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until mixture is fully incorporated, light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- To serve, plate mushroom tarts on a platter. Top each with a dollop of goat cheese mouse and drizzle with balsamic glaze. Garnish with small thyme sprig if desired. Enjoy!
Sarah is a food blogger from Metro Detroit who believes that gourmet food should be accessible to all home cooks. 
These look amazing! Are these best served hot? I’d be making them directly before our Thanksgiving party at a relative’s house and would have to transport them. Are they able to be nuked (before adding the goat cheese)?
Brittany, thanks for your thoughtful comment! These are definitely best served warm. I would recommend that you can make the mushroom mixture and the goat cheese dip in advance (and the balsamic glaze if you are going to be making it by reducing balsamic vinegar). Then make the mini pie crusts fresh so they are nice and crispy and you can gently reheat the mushroom mixture in a skillet while you prepare the mini tarts. Please let me know what you think after you try them!
Oh my goodness, I don’t even like mushrooms and these mini mushroom tarts looks SO darn tasty!
Gabriella, thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! Maybe these tarts will change your mind about mushrooms 😀