Tropical Cream Cheese Spread

I made this Tropical Cream Cheese Spread for the last Wining Women event of the season.  The theme of the event was supposed to be Tropical Island Wines but the hostess found out that no Tropical Island wines are available for sale in the United States.  At least not in our area.  The hostess decided to switch the country of origin to Argentina because those wines are readily available.  I was once again extremely brave (or stupid) about taking a brand new untried recipe with me to an event and I would say that I was also extremely lucky.  The Tropical Cream Cheese Spread turned out to be very tasty.  The strawberries I served with it were fragrant and delicious. The coconut cookies I bought were also a big hit.  I wish I had kept the wrapper of those cookies so I could give them a plug here.    This is a nice (easy) summery appetizer that I will make again to bring to a summer event.  If you use neufchatel or light cream cheese it will be just as yummy but about 1/3 the calories.   I found the recipe on http://www.worldfamousrecipes.org/.



TROPICAL CREAM-CHEESE SPREAD

Yield: About 1 & 1/2 cups.



8 ounces cream cheese or light cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons peach preserves or orange marmalade
1/4 cup crushed pineapple packed in juice or syrup, drained
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I used unsweetened coconut)
2 teaspoons honey

Combine all ingredients in the work bowl of a food processor;

Process until well blended and smooth.

Transfer the spread to a serving or storage container and cover.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Can be kept up to 1 week in refrigerator.

Serve with fresh fruit (strawberries, banana slices, pineapple spears) or with crackers and toasted bread rounds. 



Enjoy!

The Creative Cook