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I love bagels and I love cream cheese spread. Growing up, we only ever used plain cream cheese on our bagels because it was cheaper than buying the fancy flavored spreads. As an adult I am able to buy flavored cream cheese spreads for my bagels, but the cost always seems too high to be worth the small amount of cream cheese spread that you get for it.
As I was planning the menu for a small brunch I realized that I could probably make my own cream cheese schmear for a fraction of the cost that would taste even better than the store bought spread. Since I was anticipating needing 3+ tubs of flavored cream cheese spread, the time and effort to make my own seemed worth a try.
One of my favorite flavors of cream cheese is chive and onion (on an a toasted everything bagel, of course). I also love fresh herbs, especially rosemary so it was a no brainer to combine the flavor of onions and fresh herbs in my very own shallot and herb cream cheese schmear. This schmear is so incredibly flavorful that you’ll never want to go back to expensive, and relatively bland, store bough spreads. This schmear is so good that I can almost guarantee you will never have leftovers!
One quick note on the herbs in this recipe. Please follow the recipe and use fresh herbs. If you use dried herbs it will throw the flavor out of balance. Also, dried rosemary is very hard and will give the schmear an undesirable texture. If you use dried herbs you will not be able to experience the true glory of this delicious shallot and herb cream cheese schmear, and that would be a shame.
Shallot and Herb Cream Cheese Schmear
Ingredients
- 2 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (see note)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 scallions (green onions)
- 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mince the shallots. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the shallots in the olive oil until they begin to caramelize (about 7-10 minutes).
- While the shallots are sautéing, finely mince the fresh thyme and fresh rosemary. Thinly slice the green onion. Put all herbs in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Mince the garlic and add to the pan. Sauté for 30 seconds and remove from the heat.
- Add the shallot mixture to the herbs. Add the room temperature cream cheese and mix with an electric mixture until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix again.
- Enjoy on the bagel of your choice. My favorite way to eat this cream cheese schmear is on a toasted everything bagel.
A very nice post with beautifully composed photos.