Phyllo Nest Recipes

PHYLLO NESTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 12-cup muffin tin with butter. Pull phyllo into 1-inch-thick bundles; cut bundles into 2-inch lengths. Place in a bowl; separate into a loose pile with fingers. Toss with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, if using.
• Divide among 12 muffin cups; press into bottom and up sides. Cook until golden and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool; fill with jelly beans.

PHYLLO NEST

Steps:

• Tightly roll 6 sheets of phyllo dough lengthwise. Very thinly slice.
• Transfer to a baking sheet, loosely separating layers. Spray with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350 degrees F until golden-brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely.

PASTRY PHYLLO NESTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough out flat. Pick it up from the center as if it were a handkerchief. Continue with remaining 3 sheets. Set it down on a baking pan and twist and flatten the center down to create a free form "nest" of phyllo. Brush with butter and bake for 20 minutes or until crackling crisp and golden. Serve one per person and top with fruit, whipped cream or ice cream or drizzle with honey and scatter with chopped pistachios, almonds or walnuts.

PHYLLO NESTS WITH STRAWBERRIES AND HONEY

Steps:

• Without unrolling phyllo log, cut 2 (3/8-inch-thick) slices crosswise from one end of log and thaw slices 5 minutes. (Save remaining frozen phyllo for another use.)
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Lightly brush a baking sheet with some of melted butter.
• Carefully unfurl slices from phyllo rolls on a work surface, discarding any plastic or paper rolled within. Gently separate strands, keeping them parallel, then gather into 4 groups, about 14 strands each. Cover 3 groups with plastic wrap. Gently hold one end of remaining (uncovered) group of strands and brush with some of melted butter, then dust with 1/2 teaspoon confectioners sugar using a fine-mesh sieve. Flip over and brush other side with butter and dust with confectioners sugar in same manner. Loosely coil up coated strands to form a small nest and put on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining clusters to form 3 more nests.
• Bake nests in middle of oven until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool nests on sheet on a rack, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Beat cream with granulated sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks. Drizzle each phyllo nest all over with 1/4 teaspoon honey and put 1 tablespoon whipped cream in center. Top with strawberries and remaining cream, then drizzle each dessert with 1/4 teaspoon more honey.

PHYLLO NESTS

Steps:

• Cut your scraps into some semblance of strips. Gently toss your strips with melted butter. For each nest you will need about 1/2 cup phyllo strips and 2 teaspoons melted butter (don't worry about being super-exact). Fit this mix into greased muffin cups, molding it up the sides as best you can. Bake in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool. Fill with fruit. Or pudding.

EASTER EGG CAKE POPS IN PHYLLO NESTS

Steps:

• Stir the lime zest, lime juice and salt into the frosting in a small bowl.
• Crumble the cake into a large bowl; break up large chunks, but don't crumble it too finely. Spoon the frosting into the bowl 1/2 cup at a time and mix thoroughly until the mixture holds its shape when pinched.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of cake mixture into your hands and roll it into a ball. Place on the baking sheet and continue with the remaining mixture, then chill the cake balls until firm, about 30 minutes in the freezer or 2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Remove the cake balls from the freezer. Roll each ball into an egg shape. Place on the baking sheet so that the egg is standing on its fatter end, pressing it down lightly so that it doesn't fall over. Freeze or refrigerate the eggs until you're ready to dip them.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the phyllo cups on a baking sheet and spray with oil spray. Bake until crisp, about 3 minutes.
• Stir together the chocolate chips and 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil in a medium microwave-safe bowl or other microwave-safe container and microwave, stirring every so often, until completely softened. Stir well until the mixture is smooth, adding the remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil if needed. Allow to cool until just warm.
• Place the candy sprinkles into small bowls or shallow dishes (you can do a separate bowl for each color or just do multicolored sprinkles for all the cake pops).
• Spear the flat end of an egg cake pop with a wooden skewer and dip the egg into the melted chocolate to coat. Allow the excess to drip off, then dip into or sprinkle with candy sprinkles while the coating is still wet. Place the skewer in a glass so the egg is upright. Repeat with the remaining egg cake pops. If the coating on the completed eggs begins to soften, put them back in the freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up again.
• Place the phyllo cups on a large serving platter. Put the coconut in a bowl and add a few drops of green food coloring, then stir until all the coconut is bright green, adding more food coloring if needed. Place a spoonful or two of the green coconut into each phyllo cup. Remove the eggs from the skewers, then nestle an egg into each cup. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.