Caramelized onions & Goat Cheese Thyme Tarts

My favorite kind of tart to bake is pecan tarts and I own about 8 or 10 of these mini muffin pans. I really don't have high use of these adorable pans since I only make pecan tarts during the holiday season. I love goat cheese and my husband is not fond of it. I came across the idea for these tarts from my What's Cooking board, and most recipes call for puff pastry - which is an easy ingredient to buy. But I rather make the savory dough myself because it's pretty similar to my pecan tart dough, too.

Goat cheese is pretty tangy and has a very strong flavor if you desire to eat it. This recipe softens down the tangy-ness of the creamy goat cheese and brings the sweetness of the caramelized onions. They are combined perfectly together in this buttery and cheesy crust. It's such a savory bite that I find myself wanting to make variations of this tart. I love these little tarts because they are simple to make, and it's a great appetizer...you'll find yourself eating more than one. Even my husband enjoyed a couple of them, too!

Caramelized onions & goat cheese thyme Tarts
Original Krystal recipe & recommended by Cara's Cravings
Ingredients:
For the dough:
1 bar cream cheese
1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 tablespoon of butter
2 yellow onions, sliced finely
4 ounces of goat cheese
2 to 3 sprigs of thyme
3 eggs
1/4 cup half & half
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the dough - In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, butter and cream cheese and mix well. You're going to have use your hands for this and get your knead on. Roll out little balls of dough into the mini muffin pans. Using my fingers, shape the balls into the mini muffin tin. Make sure the bottoms are not to thin or the filling will seep through.
2.Prepare the filling, cut the onion into paper thin slices. Heat the butter in a large sauté pan and add the onions. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until soft and caramelized. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine eggs and half and half and mix until smooth.
4. Like an mini assembly line, Add the 1/2 tablespoon caramelized onions to tart pans(just enough to cover 1/2 inch or so). Then add 1/2 tablespoon of egg mixture into each tart and top with 1/2 teaspoon of goat cheese or more to your liking. Garnish with chopped thyme on top.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Review: I have a weakness for finger foods, and this was bite-sized perfect...simply amazing!