Category: Sweets – Other

You know Bon Appetite – must be fancy!  You can use any dates (buy the  pitted for heaven’s sake) and any honey.  If you are putting these on a tray with other filo dough goodies, cut them into 2 inch pieces.  

Ingredients:

• 14 oz Medjool dates (about 1 1/2 cups), pitted
• 1/2 c walnuts, toasted
• 3 Tab plus 1/4 cup Greek honey or other honey
• 1 tsp finely grated orange peel
• 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds (from about 10 pods), finely ground in spice mill or in mortar with pestle (Really? Use 1/4 tsp of the already ground stuff!)
• 20  sheets fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed (1/2 a package)
• 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c Greek whole-milk yogurt

Directions:

1. Combine dates, walnuts, 3 tablespoons honey, orange peel, and cardamom in processor.
2. Blend until paste forms.
3. Preheat oven to 375°.
4. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
5. Cover phyllo stack with plastic wrap, then damp kitchen towel.
6. Remove 1 phyllo sheet from stack and place on work surface.
7. Brush with melted butter.
8. Top with second sheet.
9. Brush with butter.
10. Starting 1 inch from edge at short end of phyllo, spoon 3 tablespoons date mixture in dollops in row parallel to edge.
11. Mold date mixture into log, leaving 1/2-inch border at edges of phyllo.
12. Roll up date log in phyllo, enclosing filling and forming roll (filling will be exposed at ends).
13. Transfer to baking sheet; brush with butter.
14. Repeat with remaining phyllo, butter, and date mixture.
15. Bake until golden, about 23 minutes.
16. Cool on baking sheet.
17. Spoon yogurt into small bowl (or 10 individual bowls).
18. Drizzle remaining 1/4 cup honey over yogurt.
19. Place 1 phyllo roll on each plate. Serve with honey-yogurt for dipping.

Serves:  10

Source:   Bon Appetit

A twist on classic baklava, this recipe adds semisweet chocolate to the nut filling and drizzles even more on top.  Phyllo (filo) dough is not as tricky as it seems.  Works really well to have two people to do this – one to layer and one to brush.  Buy a soft 2 inch paint brush to speed things up. (Run it through the dishwasher first – duh!)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb slivered almonds (4 cups)
• 1 c semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 Tab grated orange zest
• 1-1/2 c butter, melted
• 1 package (16 ounces)frozen phyllo dough, thawed (Should be approximately 40 sheets.  It is ok if the top set is short one or two.)

Syrup

• 1-1/4 c orange juice
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1/2 c honey
• 2 Tab lemon juice

Drizzle:

• 2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped + Add New Category
• 3 Tab water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Place almonds and chocolate chips in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped.
3. In a large bowl, combine almond mixture, sugar and orange zest.
4. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter.
5. Unroll phyllo dough.
6. Layer 10 sheets of phyllo in prepared pan, brushing each with butter. Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.
7. Sprinkle with a third of the almond mixture.
8. Repeat 10 layers plus filling twice, brushing each sheet with butter.
9. Top with remaining phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter.
10. Cut into 1-in. diamonds.
11. Bake until golden brown, 50-60 minutes.
12. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine syrup ingredients.
13. Bring to a boil.
14. Reduce heat.
15. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.
16. In a small heavy saucepan, heat chocolate and water over very low heat until melted and smooth, stirring constantly.
17. Pour syrup over warm baklava.
18. Drizzle with chocolate mixture.
19. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
20. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight.
21. You may have to re cut the diamonds.
22. Serve at room temperature.

Serves:  6 dz pieces

Source:  Taste of Home

Use this to fill little chocolate cups, or frost a lemon cake, or dip strawberries and angel cake chunks in.  Yummmm!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 C powdered sugar
• 2 Tab sour cream
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tab lemon juice
• Lemon zest

Directions:

1. Place the sour cream in a mixing bowl with 2 cups of the powdered sugar.
2. Mix and add salt and lemon juice.
3. Add more powdered sugar until icing is desired consistency.

Serves:    ?

Source:  A Bountiful Kitchen

This is for a deep 12 inch cast iron Dutch oven. Amounts are approximate, use whatever size cake mix and pie filling you have, easily double the recipe for bigger crowds.  It is not a crime to line your Dutch oven!  Foil or purchased.  Some people Mix the cake mix with Sprite or Ginger Ale to make a stiff dough.  Don’t tell anyone but this ill work in a pan in the oven.

Ingredients:

• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) box yellow cake mix or 1 (18 1/4 ounce) box white cake mix
• 1/2 c butter
• 2 (21 oz) cans fruit pie filling
• cinnamon, to taste
• 25 charcoal, briquettes (at least)

Directions:

1. Place Dutch oven over approximately 15 charcoal briquettes or over coals on a flat spot in the fire ring.
2. Empty pie filling into Dutch oven.
3. Spread dry cake mix on top of pie filling and spread evenly.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon to taste.
5. Cut butter or margarine into even sized pieces and arrange on top.
6. Put lid on Dutch oven.
7. Arrange 10 hot charcoal briquettes in a checkerboard pattern on top or scatter hot coals over lid.
8. Bake until done (this could be anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes depending on how hot your fire/coals are).

Serves: 8

Source:  Genius Kitchen – Recipe by MommyMakes