Whipped Goat Cheese with Spicy Cranberry Sauce and Honey Walnut Crunch

RECIPE 1 of THANKSGIVING MENU SERIES:
WHIPPED GOAT CHEESE with SPICY CRANBERRY SAUCE and HONEY WALNUT CRUNCH ?️??

We are starting off the Thanksgiving Menu Series with a BANG! This appetizer is so decadent that it could *almost* double as a dessert – and even a side if you leave out the goat cheese part. I was inspired by the classic pepper jelly over cream cheese app, and wanted to create something that was an elevated version of that. If you don’t like spice, simply leave out the Jalapeño! Also another note, I used brown sugar instead of cane. I feel like it adds depth to the cran sauce. This recipe has every element that I love of a good holiday appetizer: it’s festive, delicious, creamy, tart with just the right amount of crunch. Let me know what you think!
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INGREDIENTS:

For the cranberry sauce:
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
Zest and juice 1 orange
Pinch salt
for the whipped goat cheese
11 ounces room temp goat cheese
8 oz. room temp cream cheese
1 tsp maple syrup
1 ounce lemon juice

For the honey walnut crunch:
spicy honey
Chopped walnuts
Chopped dried cranberries
Pinch of flaky salt

DIRECTIONS:
To make the cranberry sauce, combine ingredients in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Place lid over the pan for 5ish minutes. Then, remove the lid, lower the heat and let simmer for 10 min, or until cranberries start to burst. Remove from heat and let completely cool.
In a food processor, combine goat & cream cheese, maple syrup and lemon juice. Pulse until smooth and whipped. For the crunch topping just combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
Spoon goat cheese into a low bowl, then top with cooled cranberry sauce. Top with the honey walnut mixture and serve with your favorite crackers!