Shelly's Recipe

FETA CHEESE AND FRESH CHIVE PHYLLO KISSES

Category: Hot

6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. snipped fresh chives
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
Pepper, to taste
24 sheets phyllo dough
1 cup butter, melted

In a medium bowl, stir the first 6 ingredients together. Refrigerate the mixture until firm enough to handle. Scoop the mixture by heaping tsp. and roll into balls. Refrigerate the cheese balls until ready to use. Cut 1 sheet of phyllo in half, crosswise, into two 8 3/4 x 12 inch pieces. Butter half of one of the pieces and place a cheese ball in the middle of the buttered half. Fold the unbuttered half over the cheese and carefully press the phyllo around the filling (as you would for ravioli). Butter the top and pull the 4 corners of the phyllo up around the cheese filling to form a small kiss-shaped pouch. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets.

Place the kisses on a baking sheet and press them gently onto the pan to flatten the bottoms of the pouches. (This will help the kisses hold their shape as they bake.) Because the pastry bakes and retains its shape better if frozen, freeze them before you bake them. They should be frozen for at least 1 hour, and may be frozen for up to one month before baking. Preheat the oven to 37 Bake the frozen pastries for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. If the tops brown too quickly, cover them loosely with foil and continue baking until done. Serve the kisses warm. Makes 48 kisses.