Cranberry-Cinnamon Goat Cheese Spread

A big congratulations to my dear friends Jeremy and Emily on their precious little boy, Benjamin!  I can't wait to meet the little guy!

I'm super excited for the National Peanut Festival tomorrow.  I'mma get me a corndog and about 15 other fried foods.  Maybe not 15.  But it's a fair, so I have to indulge.  I'm pretty sure it's illegal not to.  Obvi I had to run today to even think about gettin' my fair on tomorrow.  Word.  We might even ride the Scrambler!

This cranberry-cinnamon goat cheese spread is an indulgence I'm way okay with.  I stumbled upon it over a year ago at a grocery store.  You could buy it ready made, and it'd be totally delicious.  It's also cheaper and easier to make yourself.  So that's what I did.  It's a touch different from the store-bought version, but the key elements that I love are there.

It's stupid easy to make.  You need: dried cranberries, creamy goat cheese, cinnamon, and red wine.  Okay the red wine isn't totally necessary.  You could also use boiling water, but I think the wine adds a touch of fun.  I chose Cupcake Red Velvet because it has these chocolate notes that I thought would play really well with the rest of the ingredients.

This is 1/8 c of dried cranberries.  You could amp it up a little to 1/4 c, but I wouldn't do more than that.

Heat 1/4 c of the red wine (or water) and bring it to a boil.

Sprinkle 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp over the cranberries and pour the hot wine over the cranberries.  Let it stand 5-10 minutes.  The cranberries will soak up some of the wine.

Drain the cranberries.  Honestly, you can still drink the wine.  It just tastes like mulled wine at that point, which I heart.  Here's to hoping your goat cheese is softened by now.

Mix it all together, throw in a touch more cinnamon, and mix some more!

Spread it on crackers.  It'll make me feel better if some of yours are broken too.  I'm in love with how the cranberries and goat cheese both have tang but in a different way.  The cranberries are also slightly sweet, and the cinnamon adds a touch of warmth.  Eat it with the wine you used to plump up the cranberries.  Love all around!

Cranberry-Cinnamon Goat Cheese Spread (serves 2-3)
1/8-1/4 c dried cranberries (to taste)
1/2 tsp cinnamon, plus more for mixing
1/4 c red wine (water may be substituted)
4 oz creamy goat cheese, room temperature
Crackers for serving

• Put cranberries and cinnamon in a heat-proof bowl.  Heat wine in a small saucepan until it comes to a boil.  Then pour the wine over the cranberries and let sit 5-10 minutes.
• Drain cranberries (drink the wine) and mix in goat cheese.  Sprinkle a little extra cinnamon over the mixture and stir it in.  Serve with crackers.