Tag: easy dessert recipe

Party Time With Athens Mini Fillo Shells!!

A fillo shell is a simple, flaky, bite- sized vessel that is neither savory nor sweet. Fully baked with a perfect crunch, the fillo shells can be absolutely priceless in comparison to working with thin sheets of fillo dough. The tedious process also includes adding butter to the dough sheets- definitely unwanted calories! Mini fillo shells are an easy button time saver without losing quality, crispness or taste!

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My favorite ready made shells are Athens mini fillo shells! With just two or three ingredients, you can make the most amazing party appetizers or desserts! As Athens puts it, “Just fill ’em!” The first time I ever used Athens mini fillo shells I filled them with goat cheese and caramelized onions and popped them in the toaster oven for 10 minutes! Everybody loved them!

Here are a few of my easy and delicious mini fillo shell recipes!

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Chocolate Chip Cannoli

Ingredients:
1 package Athens mini fillo shells, contains 15 shells
1/2 cup ricotta
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup mini or full size chocolate chips (1/2 for filling and 1/2 for topping)

Directions:
Whip all ingredients, except chocolate chips until light and fluffy.
Fold in 1/2 chocolate chips.
Fill shells and top with extra chocolate chips
Enjoy!

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Ham and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
1 package Athens mini fillo shells, contains 15 shells
Crumbled goat cheese
Your favorite cooked ham, diced
Chopped parsely for garnish

Directions:
Carefully fill shells with ham and goat cheese.
Bake or broil in toaster oven for 7-10 mins. until cheese melts.
Top with chopped parsley.
Enjoy!

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Pulled Pork Taco

Ingredients:
1 package Athens mini fillo shells, contains 15 shells
1/3 cup pulled pork (Slow cook pork shoulder roast all day seasoned with chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, or your favorite taco seasoning. Definitely can be made the day before and refrigerated.)
1 small tomato, chopped
1 tbsp. Mexican cheese blend
cilantro for garnish
sour cream, optional

Directions:
To serve warm, carefully fill shells with all ingredients, except sour cream or cilantro.
Bake or broil in toaster oven 7-10 mins. until cheese is melted.
Top with sour cream and cilantro.
Enjoy!

To serve cold, fill shells with all ingredients.
Enjoy!

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All opinions expressed belong to Parmesan Princess! I seriously love Athens mini fillo shells and would love to share more easy and delicious small bite recipes with you soon!

Ciao!

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Connect with Athens Foods on Facebook for even more mini fillo recipes!

Lemon Basil Squares!

I am my grandma. Lemon dessert obsessed. Of course bright lemon yellow is her favorite color…”the apple doesn’t fall too far” is too true. Spring brings it out in me. I crave lemon meringue pie, lemon salad dressings, lemon chicken!
Salads doused in lemon juice are the most refreshing spring/summer salads! I just made a beautiful Greek salad this week!

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Lemon squares rank pretty high on the refreshing dessert list and are easy to make! My recipe makes a 9X13 pan, just sprinkle some powdered sugar, cut into squares, and enjoy a beautiful, delicious dessert! This time I added finely chopped basil for an element of surprise!

The addition of the basil’s green color added a crispness and a pop of color to the plain lemon squares. The flavor is incredible! Super sweet and lemony with a pop of savory! Delish!

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Here is the recipe!

Lemon Basil Squares
(Makes one 9X13 pan)

Ingredients:
Crust
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour

Filling:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 tbsp. basil, finely chopped(1 tbsp. for sprinkling on top)
2 tbsp. Powdered sugar (also for sprinkling on top)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour 9X13 pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine softened butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 cups flour with a wooden spoon until well mixed.

Press mixture into bottom of a greased 9X13 pan.

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Bake crust for 12-18 minutes until set and golden.

Meanwhile, whisk together filling ingredients.

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Pour filling over baked base and return to the oven for 18-20 mins.

Let cool.

Sprinkle with remaining chopped basil and powdered sugar.

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Enjoy the lemony deliciousness!
Ciao!

Apple Pear Tart ! A Simply Delicious Dessert!

Those of you who have been following Parmesan Princess know I’m on a mission to “up my baking game.” I feel like it will be an ongoing goal because I am slow to catch on to the baking patience, the annoyingly important precision of baking times and temps, not to mention the humidity in the air of which a baker has absolutely zero control.

With that said, those of you who know me well are probably saying, “OK, giving up control and requiring patience…Poor thing, I hope she sticks to cooking!”
True. Yes, but I am diving into a new world of fancy French pastry words because this impatient control freak also enjoys a good old fashioned challenge. Bring it on!!

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I love the taste of pear and apple mixed together, smothered in layers of sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla, wrapped in a flaky sweet crust. Yummy! So technically we make a páte brisée and wrap it up galette -style. I know it sounds ridiculously complicated, but it’s not! What is páte brisée? Actually a really easy and perfectly flaky pastry crust, but a Pilsbury pie crust works just fine! And what is galette -style? Folding up the pastry crust on the sides and leaving the center open. The process is really not that complicated! Pie -ish. So I figured out an easy, totally doable tart recipe!! Here it is!

Apple Pear Tart

Ingredients:
Pâté Brisée
Adapted from Jacques Pepín
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 stick unsalted butter, cold and sliced into 1/2 inch squares
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup ice water
OR
Use Pilsbury refrigerated pie crust – let stand until room temperature.

Filling
2 apples, cored and sliced mixed with lemon juice to prevent browning
2 pears, cored and sliced mixed with lemon juice to prevent browning
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. Ground cinnamon
1/2 tbsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 cup whipped honey
2 tbsp. flour
1/3 cup white or light brown sugar
Egg white wash and
Sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

If making the pâté brisée…
Add flour, butter, and salt to
a food processor.
Run for 5 seconds, the butter will still be in pieces.
Add ice water and run for 5 seconds just until dough forms. The butter will still be seen.
Roll dough in a ball.
Roll out into an oval 1/8 inch -1/4 inch thick .
Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate 30 mins.

OR
Roll out one Pilsbury Pie crust.

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Preheat oven 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, add apples, pears, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, sugar and whipped honey, and flour. Mix to coat.

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Fan out slices in the center of the pastry dough.
Create a fan pattern or a pattern of your preference.

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Galette-Style : Fold up the dough 1 inch over the filling and pinch.
Continue folding and pinching until a crust is completely formed in a complete circle.

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Brush with egg white wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 40-50 minutes or until tart is golden brown and fruit is softened when pierced with a fork.

Top with mascarpone cheese, whipped cream, and/or a scoop of your favorite ice cream!

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Enjoy!
Ciao!