I'm a home cook, not a chef, but here are some bite-sized desserts I've done.
- Very rich brownies cut into 1" cubes, served in papers (mini cupcake papers)
- Two layers of carrot cake with cream cheese filling, cut with 1-1/2" biscuit cutter. Pipe a star of the cream cheese filling on top after you put them into papers. The layers should be about 1/2". Make sure to chop nuts and carrots finely.
- Tiny apple turnovers: finely chop apples, raisins and walnuts. Add cinnamon-sugar and some lemon juice (so it's not overly sweet). Combine and let rest in the fridge 30 minutes or longer. Drain and set aside. Brush 2 phyllo sheets with butter and put one on top of the other. Cut into 2" strips (cut across the long side). Place a bit less than 1 teaspoon of the drained fruit mixture on one end of each strip. Fold like a flag. Place on baking sheet (lined with foil or parchment). Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown.
- Make your own tart crust or use the frozen mini-phyllo cups. Put your favorite pie filling in it (lemon meringue- or lemon curd; pecan pie, with nuts chopped tiny; etc.). Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees until the filling is bubbling.
- Palmiers- use frozen puff pastry and granulated sugar to make miniature "elephant ears". There are lots of recipes for this online; I use Ina Garten's on the Food Network site.
One thing to keep in mind when making small bites is to be sure to chop nuts, fruits, etc. finley, or cake will crumble apart and fillings will not hae some of everything in them.
Good luck!
Mezzaluna
