CINNAMON AND SUGAR
CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Omit lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pep-
per. Substitute 2 tablespoons packed
brown sugar and 1 teaspoon ground
cinnamon for parsley and basil.SMOKED SALMON AND CHIVE
CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Omit garlic and salt. Substitute 2 ounces
sliced smoked salmon, torn into 2-inch
pieces, and ¼ cup chopped fresh chives
for parsley and basil.OLIVE AND SCALLION
CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Omit lemon juice, garlic, and salt.
Reduce cream cheese to 6 ounces and
increase pepper to 1 teaspoon. Substitute
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, patted dry,
plus 2 teaspoons brine, and 4 chopped
scallions for parsley and basil.HONEY AND ROSEMARY
CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Omit lemon juice and garlic. Substitute
2 tablespoons honey and 1 tablespoon
minced fresh rosemary for parsley and
basil.26 COOK’S COUNTRY • APRIL/MAY 2019
IN A BAGEL shop, I’m a bit like a
kid in a candy store—wide-eyed and
greedy to try everything in sight.
And for me, it’s not just the bagels
but the cream cheese spreads, too.
Oddly, even though I cook and de-
velop recipes for a living, I’d never
really considered making my own
cream cheese spreads. It was time to
turn that corner.
I headed into the kitchen, rolled
up my sleeves, and got to work on a
basic garlic and herb spread (my fa-
vorite variety). I quickly found that
it helped to let the cream cheese
come to room temperature (about
30 minutes on the counter) before
adding other ingredients. I audi-
tioned a dozen herbs for the spread
before my tasters and I landed on
the full-fl avored, fresh-tasting com-
bination of parsley and basil. I tried
mixing in the herbs and minced
garlic by hand, but the results were
too chunky, and even distribution
was a problem.
A colleague recommended using a
food processor to blend everything.
I decided to give it a go, adding the
softened cream cheese and herbs to
the processor bowl with one small
clove of garlic and a bit of lemon
juice for acidity and brightness.
Twenty seconds of whirling later,
I had an amazingly fragrant, herby
spread. Easy.
I started looking around the
kitchen for fl avorful, potent ingre-
dients to create more spreads with
real personality and fl air.
For a take on a bagel with lox,
I combined some sliced smoked
salmon with fresh chives. Another
version starred salty olives and on-
iony scallions. For a more unusual
sweet-savory rendition, I combined
honey and piney rosemary (I love
this one on a raisin bagel). And
fi nally, a classic combination of cin-
namon and sugar rounded out the
lineup. Get your toaster ready (see
page 30 for the results of our latest
toaster testing).
Cream
Cheese
Spreads
Your bagel deserves
better than a prefab
spread. by Ashley Moore
GARLIC AND HERB
CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Serves 8 (Makes 1 cup)
For the smoothest results, let the cream
cheese come to room temperature
before processing it. A garlic press or a
rasp-style grater will make quick work
of mincing the garlic. The test kitchen’s
favorite cream cheese is Philadelphia
Cream Cheese Brick Original.8 ounces cream cheese,
softened
½ cup fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon pepperProcess all ingredients in food proces-
sor until smooth, about 20 seconds,
scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Serve. (Cream cheese spread can be
refrigerated in airtight container for up
to 1 week.)FIVE EASY1154232345