Tip: Cheese filling can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time4 minutesmins
Total Time34 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer
Servings: 18Balsamic Bites
Calories: 147kcal
Equipment
Piping bag
Ingredients
18-20medium-sized fresh strawberries
½cupsoftened low-fat cream cheese
½cuppart-skim ricotta cheese
½cupfresh grated Parmesan cheese
1tbspaged balsamic vinegar
1tspfinely chopped thyme
½tspcracked black pepper
Parmesan Thyme Crisp:
½cupfresh grated Parmesan cheese
2tbspfresh thyme leaves
Black pepper to taste
Instructions
To prepare the strawberries:
Trim the leafy stem end from a strawberry and stand up on cut end.
Starting at the tip of the strawberry, make two cuts in a cross pattern 2/3 of the way down.
Gently open up the four strawberry sections wide enough to fit a large star piping tip.
Repeat with remaining strawberries.
For Parmesan Thyme Crisp:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
On a parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle Parmesan in an even 1/8 inch thick layer.
Top with thyme leaves and cracked black pepper.
Bake in center rack for 3-4 minutes until light golden.
Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, ricotta, grated Parmesan, balsamic vinegar, thyme and pepper.
Scrape mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Pipe about 1 ½ tablespoons into each strawberry.
Gently break Parmesan Thyme Crisp into small pieces and top each strawberry to garnish.
Notes
1 bite is 1/18th recipe and assumed all Parmesan Thyme Crisps used up.
Cheese filling can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.