Prize Winning Festive Phyllo Tarts Food

STRAWBERRY-CREAM CHEESE PHYLLO TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350. Brush bottom and sides of 11x7 inch glass baking dish with butter. Cut piece of parchment paper to fit in bottom and up 2 ends of baking dish. Place in dish; brush generously with butter.
• Center 1 phyllo sheet in baking dish, forming about 1-inch border up sides of dish, turning over as necessary at ends; brush with butter. Repeat with remaining 5 phyllo sheets. Bake 6-8 minutes or untill sides begin to curl. If puffed in center, prick gently with knife tip; press down gently with back of spoon to deflate.
• Meanwhile beat cream cheese in large bowl at medium speed 1 minute or until fluffy. Beat in sugar 1-2 minutes until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating until just combined. Beat in vanilla. Pour into partially baked phyllo lined pan.
• Bake 20 minutes or until filling is set and phyllo is golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove tart, lifting with 2 extended ends of parchment; place on wire rack. Cool 45-50 minutes or until room temperature.
• Cover with strawberries; brush with jelly to glaze. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

SAVORY SEAFOOD PHYLLO TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Spray or grease a muffin pan.
• For Filling:.
• Place cream cheese in mixing bowl. Add egg, half and half, and mix well. Stir in rest of filling ingredients.
• For Dough:.
• Working quickly, and keeping dough moist, lay out a sheet of dough on a cutting board and brush with melted butter. Lay onto buttered surface next sheet of Phyllo dough and repeat with 5 more sheets leaving last sheet plain without butter.
• Cut stacked dough into 6 equal pieces and place into muffin pan fitting into the bottom to make a well.
• Butter, stack, and cut remaining 6 pieces of dough.
• Fill cups with filling to top and bake at 350 F until set approximately 20 minutes.

FETA-AND-HERB PHYLLO TART

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.
• Brush one of the phyllo sheets lightly with melted butter and place, butter side-up, in a 9-inch/25-centimeter round tart pan. Press the pastry into the corners and then brush another sheet of phyllo in the same way, pressing it into the pan at a 45-degree angle to the first sheet. Continue twice more (using 4 sheets total), covering the base and sides of the pan with a uniformly thick layer of phyllo. Trim the overhanging pastry, but not completely, leaving 1/2-inch/1 centimeter of phyllo over the edges of the tart. Set both the pan and pastry scraps aside.
• Take another sheet of phyllo (unbuttered this time) and position the long side in front of you. Fold the bottom edge up to form a fold 1 inch/3 centimeters wide. Continue folding the pastry in alternating directions (as if you were making a concertina fan) until you end up with 1 long pleated strip. Repeat with the remaining sheets of pastry in the same way. (If the pastry breaks or tears, pat it back into place and continue as if the torn pieces were still connected.)
• Starting from the middle of the tart tin, coil 1 folded strip from the middle outwards to start forming a rough snail, spreading the strips roughly 1/4 inch/1/2 to 1 centimeter apart. (You want visible gaps between the phyllo strips, so you can fill them with chunks of feta and the custard.) Meet the end of the pastry with the second strip and continue the snail in the same way until the 4 sheets have been used. You may still have some space around the edge, which you can fill with the scrap trimmings, folding them in the same way as best you can.
• Brush the pastry carefully with remaining butter and set any pastry coils upright if they've fallen over. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the pastry is a dark golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix feta, pecorino and herbs until blended and set aside.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and milk with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper.
• Gently press cheese and herbs in between the gaps of the phyllo pastry, being careful not to break the pastry base. Pour the custard over evenly, drizzling in just a little at a time and allowing it to soak evenly into all the gaps in the pastry. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until the custard has set and the cheese has browned. Remove from the oven and serve warm, cut into slices.

SENSUOUS PHYLLO FRUIT TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Place a sheet of phyllo on a flat surface such as a cutting board; spray lightly with spray and sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar. Cover with another sheet of phyllo. Repeat three times, finishing with spray and sugar. Using a pizza cutter or a very sharp knife, cut the phyllo into 3-inch squares. Place each square in a cup on a muffin tin, pressing in gently and fanning phyllo layers so corners don't overlap. Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until golden. Whip yogurt in a small bowl. Fold in Neufchâtel and vanilla (and liquor, if desired). Cover and refrigerate 10 minutes. After cups have cooled, remove them from muffin tin. Add 1 tbsp yogurt mixture to each cup. Top with fruit and serve. (You can also mix fruit directly into yogurt mixture.)

PRIZE WINNING FESTIVE PHYLLO TARTS

Steps:

• For filling, beat cream cheese and Splenda until smooth.
• Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla, and beat well. I usually prepare the filling in the food processor. Set aside.
• For crust, place 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface (keep remainder covered with a damp tea towel to prevent drying out). Brush with melted margarine (or butter). Place a second sheet on top. Cut into 12 squares. Place 1 square in each greased muffin cup, leaving the corners of the square extending up into points. Repeat with remaining 2 sheets of phyllo, placing this next square on top of the phyllo lined muffin cups, but giving it a 1/4 turn, so the points fit between the existing ones (completed pastry should look like a tulip).
• Divide cheese mixture between tart shells. If using optional filling drop 1/2 TBSP of any topping except fresh fruit, in center of each tart.
• Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden and filling is set.
• Cool in muffin tin on a rack until only warm, then remove from tin to rack to finish cooling.
• Store in the refrigerator.
• Garnish with fresh fruit (and a sprinkle of powdered sugar) if using that option.

APPLE TART IN PHYLLO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine apples, dried fruits, pecans, cinnamon, lemon juice, sugar, lemon rind, candied ginger and flour in a bowl and mix well.
• Unwrap phyllo and cover with wax paper and damp towel. Keep covered when not in use to prevent drying out.
• Heat butter and add oil.
• Using some of the butter mixture, lightly grease a baking pan, about 12 inches by 18 inches. (The pan can be as large as the sheets of phyllo, and brands differ in size. If they are too large for the pan, trim them.)
• Arrange 1 sheet of phyllo on bottom of pan and brush lightly with butter mixture. Repeat, buttering between sheets, using 8 sheets in all.
• Spread apple filling evenly over phyllo and top with another sheet, brushing lightly with butter. Repeat, butter each sheet, using 8 sheets in all, brushing the top sheet with butter. Cut phyllo all the way through into 12 rectangles.
• Bake in lower third of the oven for 25 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking 25 minutes longer, until top is brown. Cool. Serve at room temperature.

PHYLLO FRUIT TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface; brush evenly with butter-oil mixture. Repeat with seven more sheets of phyllo, brushing each layer and stacking on previous sheet. (Keep remaining phyllo dough covered with waxed paper to prevent it from drying out.), Place phyllo dough on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 5-7 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack., In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth; fold in whipped topping. Gently spread over cooled crust. Arrange fruits over cream cheese layer; drizzle with chocolate.

ONION PHYLLO TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Add onions, garlic and sugar and saute 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are very brown and very soft (caramelized).
• Mix beaten eggs, sour cream, dill, flour, swiss and 2 Tbs of the parmesan in a large bowl.
• Add the caramelized onions to the egg mixture and mix until well combined.
• Take two sheets of phyllo dough and lay them into the bottom of a greased 8-10 inch springform pan.
• Brush with butter or spray with oil.
• Take another two sheets and lay them over the pan in the other direction.
• Spray with oil or brush with butter.
• Be sure that the bottom and sides of pan are covered with phyllo.
• When phyllo is laid in pan, pour in egg and onion mixture.
• Pull phyllo dough over mixture to cover (use additional sheets of phyllo if necessary).
• Brush top with 2 tsp butter and sprinkle with remaining (2 Tbs) parmesan cheese.
• Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
• Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then release springform and let sit for 5 more minutes before slicing.
• Serve hot or at room temperature.

CRAB PHYLLO TARTS

Steps:

• Place tart shells on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle cheese into each shell.
• In a mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients and spoon about a teaspoonful into each tart shell.
• Bake at 375 F for 18-20 minutes or until pastry is browned and serve warm!

CARAMELIZED APPLES IN PHYLLO TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a work surface,stack the phyllo sheets and cut out four 7-inch squares (12 total), discarding the scraps. Stack the squares between 2 sheets of wax paper and cover with a kitchen towel.
• Spray the countertop and 4 individual ring molds with nonstick cooking spray. Lay a square of phyllo on the counter and sprinkle with some of the 2 teaspoons of sugar; lay a second square on top, brush with the melted butter, and sprinkle with sugar. Cover with a third layer and sprinkle with sugar.
• Work the phyllo into the ring mold as you would a handkerchief into a pocket, letting the edges overhang. Repeat with the remaining phyllo. Place the molds on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Carefully transfer the phyllo shells to a rack.
• Combine the apples, lemon juice, and apple juice and set aside. In a nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon sugar and caramelize for 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the heat, add the Cognac, and stir with a wooden spoon. Return the pan to the heat, add the spices and apple mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Divide the apples among the shells and sprinkle with crystallized ginger.