Close up of a bowl piled with delicious golden baked parmesan and paprika hearts

First Go At Making Parmesan & Paprika Cocktail Hearts

31st December 2023 - New Experience Number 50

Delicious and simple little flavoursome parmesan and paprika cocktail hearts. These were the final new food I was having a go at making this year. The penultimate new thing tried of 2023, and another treat to add to the beige buffet for our new year’s eve party.

The Recipe

Pinterest is a fantastic place to find ideas and inspiration of new things to try. If you’re on Pinterest, you can find me here where I’m sharing and curating ideas and experiences. They’re a mix of things I’ve had a go at, or hope to try.

I’d been gathering various recipes over a couple of weeks, and the picture for these puff pastry stars looked like they would be a perfect little nibble to add to our collection of sweet and savoury treats. They would go well alongside the bread wreath, baklava and rosemary and sea salt crackers I’d made.

The recipe is from Rachel Phipps who has a great site with lots of amazing recipes.

Making Parmesan & Paprika Cocktail Hearts

There weren’t many ingredients for this make, and the only additional ones I had to buy which weren’t already in my cupboard, were the puff pastry and the parmesan.

The recipe was to make parmesan and paprika cocktail stars, but it turned out I only had one cutter in the house and that was from the family clay wall hanging kit I had made a few days earlier! Heart shaped puff pastry treats work just as well.

Once I’d cut out my shapes, I placed them onto baking paper covered trays.  Brushing each heart with an egg and milk mix, I then added the toppings. Half of them were covered with parmesan and the other half had the spicy sprinkling.

Less than ten minutes in the oven and the pastry had risen and turned a lovely golden baked shade

Close up of a bowl piled with freshly baked Parmesan & Paprika Cocktail Hearts
A good bowl full of bite sized canapes

Hearts Of Approval From The Guests

Do take a look at Rachel’s recipe to see how prettily you can present these canapés. Mine were definitely lacking in visual aesthetics as I was pushed for time. The cayenne topped hearts may look a little dark in the pictures, but that’s down to how much spice I sprinkled on them.

The parmesan hearts were like a flaky cheesy cloud of deliciousness, whilst the spiced shapes had a bit of a kick from the cayenne pepper.

The full bowl rapidly disappeared as our guests tucked into the moorish snacks; the perfect bite sized nibbles to accompany a glass of fizz or two.

A bowl full of parmesan and paprika cocktail hearts. Freshly baked and out of the oven canapes ready to serve at a party
Not the prettiest presentation, but very tasty

Want To Try It Yourself?

  • To use the same recipe that I followed, take a look at Rachel Phipps Parmesan and Paprika Cocktail Stars
  • There are lots of different recipes for appetisers and canapés available, take a look online, and in particular Pinterest, for some great ideas.

Cost Of Experience

  • As always, this will depend on where you shop.
  • You may find you have some of the ingredients in your cupboard already as there are some everyday essentials in the list.
  • However, if you need to buy all of the ingredients from scratch, it will probably cost around £11, and you’ll have plenty left to use for other recipes.

Recommendations

  • These are incredibly easy to make, and would be a perfect canape to make with children. 
  • Don’t worry if you don’t have a star cutter, you can get creative and make these in any shape you like.

  • If you aren’t too keen on hot spices, go sparingly with the cayenne pepper.

  • They cook really quickly. Don’t go too far from your oven when you’re baking them so you can keep an eye on them.

  • Don’t forget to share any pictures if you do give them a go.

  • Happy baking!

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