Homemade Boursin Cheese

Until about a month ago, I had never tasted Boursin cheese. I'd heard about it plenty of times, but I had never tasted it. And then, all of a sudden, Boursin cheese was everywhere! Earl and Shirley had some at their house one evening when David and I stopped by, so I tried it. Delicious! Of course, I've never met a cheese that I didn't like, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed it. Then, a week or so after my first taste of Boursin, Devona brought some to a ladies' group meeting. After experiencing the delightfulness that is Boursin, I decided to check it out at the grocery store. I had never seen it, but then again, I hadn't been looking for it. Well, I found it at Kroger, in the "fancy cheese" case. That's not the case where you find the Kraft cheese slices or the Velveeta. It's where you find the brie, the smoked mozzarella, etc. Anyway, a little container (maybe 6 ounces or so) cost almost $6.00! I looked at the ingredients, and it didn't look like rocket science, so I started looking for a copycat.
The recipe I found came very close to the original. Close enough for me to warrant not ever buying the real deal Boursin cheese again, as a matter of fact! Especially since it took about 5 minutes to make. The recipe I found came from Recipezaar. After checking out the official Boursin website, I learned that there are a number of flavors, and I think they'd probably be easy enough to replicate by tweaking this recipe just a tad.

We enjoyed our copycat Boursin cheese on a variety of crackers, but I've seen numerous recipes that include Boursin cheese as an ingredient. I be it would be out of this world on a bagel. Or a nice thick smear of this homemade Boursin would be delicious as a dip for veggies (celery, carrots, etc.). Take your pick! Just make sure you make it as soon as possible, because you definitely won't be disappointed! I'll post the full recipe, but I just made half tonight for us, and we had plenty left over. I haven't tried freezing it, but the Recipezaar site says that it freezes well. If you try that and have good luck, please let me know. I don't think I'll have many leftovers to worry about!

Copycat Boursin Cheese Spread

Bonnie Young, by way of Recipezaar

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

16 oz. (2 bricks) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried dill week

1/4 tsp. dried marjoram

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Blend cream cheese and butter together until well combined (I was able to do this with a spatula with no problem). Add pressed garlic and herbs. Mix until well combined. The cheese can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to three months.

* I used two cloves of garlic, 1/2 tsp. of oregano, and 1/4 tsp. of the other herbs in the half batch and thought it tasted pretty darn good. If you're making the full batch, you might want to start wtih the above amounts, taste it, and then adjust the seasonings to your taste.