When I saw the recipe for these goat cheese empanadas in the August issue of Real Simple magazine, I ripped the page out immediately. I could almost feel my mouth watering. Goat cheese! Pie crust! Two of my favorite things combined into one delicious snack. I had to have them.

The recipe is very simple--it was from an article on three-ingredient recipes. As written, it said to take pre-made refrigerated pie dough, roll it out and cut out three inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Put goat cheese on the rounds, fold them in half and crimp the edges. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, then serve with salsa.

I did that almost exactly as it was written, except that I made my own pie crust from scratch. I'm a little obsessive about my pie crust; it has to be really good, and I've never tasted a pre-made one that was up to my standards. I just prefer my family recipe to any other. I'm not being snobby, I promise. It's just that good.



See? Here are they are, golden and delicious, with salsa and Diet Pepsi. Do I know how to have a good time, or what?

I bit into one, expecting cheesy goodness. Instead...

Well, they weren't bad. They were certainly edible. But they didn't even come close to the delectable treat I had imagined. The pie crust was rich and flaky. The cheese was rich and creamy. Together (I can't hardly believe I'm going to write this) they were almost too rich to enjoy. The flavors didn't really complement each other. It made for a heavy mouthful, not a tasty little snack. I wanted them to be crispy on the outside, soft and cheesy on the inside. But they weren't. The crust was tender and flaky, as pie crust should be, but I think something lighter and crunchier would have worked better.

Also, I'd never baked chevre before, but I had imagined it would get kind of melty and gooey, like most cheese does. But it didn't. It was the exact same soft, slightly creamy/crumbly consistency as normal...just warm. And that wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't great either. Speaking as a girl who has never met a cheese she didn't like, who loves fondue and grilled cheese sandwiches and nachos and all other kinds of cooked-cheese type recipes, I would have to say that based on this recipe, baked goat cheese ranks lowest of all the cheese I've ever baked.

Maybe if I'd followed the directions and used a store-made pie crust. Those are usually kind of thin and tasteless. That might actually have been a little better than the two rich, competing tastes. Maybe if I rolled the dough out real thin so you got just a taste of the dough before biting into the cheese? Maybe if I used puff pastry instead? Maybe if I tried a different kind of cheese that would get more melty in the oven? (hmm, maybe I just need to try a different recipe). For now, all I can say is that these goat-cheese-in-a-pie-crust-empanadas were not all that I dreamed they would be. Major bummer.

However--we also tried a recipe we DID like. Stay tuned for a review of Watermelon-Raspberry Slushies! A perfect (and perfectly healthy) summer snack.