Cucumber and Cheese Bites – A Fast & Easy Appetizer in Less Than Ten Minutes

We had some people over for dinner on Saturday, and I wanted to serve a few easy appetizers to keep them sated while my husband and I finished the main course.

Boursin cheese was on sale, so I thought I’d try these little cucumber bites filled with a Boursin-based filling.  However, recognizing that Boursin is rarely on sale at my grocery store and is not budget-friendly when it’s not on sale, I also tried making a filling with the more budget-friendly and more frequently on-sale Laughing Cow blue cheese.  It worked very well, and I think you could use any Laughing Cow or similar flavored cheese that you like.  The one down side of Laughing Cow cheese is that you have to unwrap each individual wedge, but that doesn’t take all that much time.

My favorite thing about this recipe, besides the fact that it has cheese, is that it takes very little time and yet looks like something you’d eat at a catered party.  The cuteness to prep time ratio is very high.  Always a plus.

Annie’s recipe calls for only one cucumber, but I had enough filling for two cucumbers, even though I only made a half recipe of the Boursin version and a half recipe of the Laughing Cow version.  I wanted some leftover Boursin for me, because I am selfish and adore cheese.  Oh, wait, my main point was that you may find you only need one cucumber, but I needed two.  Partly because I used slightly less cheese per slice than the model recipe, which was an accident, but I actually thought the cheese to cucumber ratio was delicious as is and didn’t miss the extra cheese.  Did I just say, “I didn’t miss the extra cheese?”  I need to go check my temperature . . .

Cucumber and Cheese Bites

Adapted slightly from Annie’s Eats

• 1 – 2 cucumbers
• 1 5.2 oz package of Boursin cheese, or 1 6 oz package of Laughing Cow cheese (any flavor you want!)
• 2 – 3 TBSP heavy cream

Peel your cucumbers if you wish.  You can peel them partially, as shown in Annie’s recipe.  I just dragged a fork down the side of the cucumber and repeated that pattern all around the cucumber.

Slice the cucumbers into slices approximately 1/2 inch thick, discarding the ends.  Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds from each of the slices, leaving a little well in the middle of the slice.  Do not scrape all the way through to the other side.  After a few, you’ll get a feel for the right spot to dig your spoon in, and it will get easier and faster.

Make the cheese filling by dumping the cheese into a small bowl and adding one tablespoon of the heavy cream.  Stir well with a fork.  Add another tablespoon of cream and stir again.  If the cheese is the right consistency for piping, stop there; otherwise, add the final tablespoon of cream and stir.  If you’re using Laughing Cow cheese, you’ll need less cream.

Transfer the cheese and cream mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a fun, flowery tip of your choice.  The tips with the rounder shapes work infinitely better than the tips with the long, narrow shapes.  Pipe the filing into the wells of the cucumber slices.

These taste best straight from the fridge, so do not set them out until the first guest knocks on the door, and refrigerate any leftovers.  They are freshest within six hours of preparation, and after that, they start to wilt a tiny bit but they still taste yummy.