Multipurposing a muffin pan!

   I don't make muffins or cupcakes too often, so since I had two muffin pans, I needed to find some creative use for them. I was walking through the grocery store, saw a phyllo dough, and it hit me: I'm going to make fruit filled phyllo cups! I think it was high time for some different dessert rather then szarlotka or carrot cake and I also wanted to make a semi-light sweet treat after all these heavy Christmas dishes! The list of ingredients is really short:

10 sheets of phyllo dough
butter spray
1 apple
1 pear
white sugar
cinnamon

   I was always hesitant to work with a phyllo dough because I was afraid it's very fragile and easy to tear but I was wrong, it's nothing difficult. You do have to be careful with it, but it's quite manageable. I stack 5 sheets of phyllo dough together, spraying each layer with a butter spray. You can't be lazy and skip layers when buttering because it will not stick together and you will end up with a mess! Cut the stack of dough into 6 squares and gently place each of them in a muffin pan (I use a 12 muffin pan), forming them into cups. Slice apples and pears and put them in the dough cups, sprinkling with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 375F for 10-15 min until the edges are brown.

   It's very quick, easy, and not too not healthy... (did you notice how I tried to use reverse psychology, huh)? If you think if it's too healthy, or that it's not a respectful match for a Holiday dinner, you can always add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, sprinkle some cinnamon, and it will make everything just perfect!

   Doesn't it look much better with some ice cream action? I hope you will enjoy it.

Good luck.
Magda.