Mozzarella Cheese Filled Hearts with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Celebrate Valentine's Day with some savory Mozzarella Cheese Filled Hearts served with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto! Each little heart-shaped pie crust is filled with Mozzarella cheese, topped with Parmesan Cheese and baked to a golden brown.

Are you going out to dinner for Valentine's Day or staying home? We'll be staying home.

I enjoy going out to dinner, just not on a busy holiday. If you share my sentiment and will be staying at home, these heart-shaped appetizers would be a nice start to your Valentine's Day dinner. They would be also fun to serve if you are hosting a Valentine's Day party or even a bridal shower.

This recipe is so simple to make using store-bought pie dough and slices of mozzarella cheese and you can serve the cheese-filled hearts with freshly made Roasted Red Pepper Pesto, which takes minutes to prepare, or with your favorite marinara sauce.

How to make Mozzarella Cheese Filled Hearts
               with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

You'll need:

Cheese Filled Hearts:

• flour for dusting cutting board
• 1 refrigerated pie crust (½ of a 15 oz. box ), thawed
• ¼ inch thick slices of mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg white
  • (You can use the whole egg but your hearts will be a bit more yellow in color.)
• optional, 1-2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto:

• 12-ounce jar of roasted red peppers drained and patted dry
• 1 teaspoon minced roasted garlic
• 2 ounces chopped roasted and salted almonds
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley, fresh basil, or 1 tablespoon prepared basil pesto
  • If you prefer basil over parsley then use that in the recipe. Both add a fresh flavor to the pest.
  • You'll notice in the video that I used prepared basil pesto which was easy and added a nice flavor too.
• ¾ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • I always use Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese as I feel it has the best flavor.
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Supplies Needed:

• cutting board
• 2 heart-shaped cookie cutters (one that is 2 ½" at the widest point and another that is 1 ½" wide)
• rolling pin
• pastry brush
• baking sheet lined with parchment paper (needs to fit in your freezer)
• food processor, blender, or knife

Instructions:

• Unroll your pie crust onto a large cutting board.
  • You can use homemade pie dough for this instead. In that case, you'll want to roll the dough out to about a 12-inch circle.
  • I used one tube of Pillsbury Pie Dough.
• Cut 24 hearts using the larger heart cutter, re-rolling dough as needed.
  • One of the Pillsbury rolls of dough will yield 24 hearts.
• Cut 12 hearts using the smaller heart cutter out of the mozzarella cheese slices.
• Brush egg white over one dough heart then place a mozzarella cheese heart in the center.
• Flatten the edges of another dough heart just to make the edges a bit thinner.
• Then set that over top of the cheese.

• Crimp the edges of your pie dough hearts with a fork.
• Make sure all of the edges are sealed well.

• Brush egg wash over the top of each of the hearts and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if using.
• Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

NOTES:

You can sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the entire surface of the hearts or if you prefer you can brush the egg white in a heart pattern on the dough and sprinkle the cheese over top or just leave them plain. I personally like how they look and taste completely covered in the grated Parmesan cheese.

• Freeze the pie dough hearts for 15-20 minutes.
  • This will chill the dough quickly and it will also chill your mozzarella cheese so it doesn't melt too quickly when baked.
• Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
• While you wait, you can make your pesto.

How to make Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

• Place the roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, roasted almonds, parsley or basil or basil pesto, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor.
• Pulse a few times to break everything down into small pieces.
• Add the olive oil and puree just to incorporate the oil.
• Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Pour into a small serving bowl.
• You can serve this cold or you can warm it in the microwave for 45-60 seconds.

If you don't have a food processor, you can use a blender. If you have neither, then just chop everything really fine and mix it together by hand. I like my pesto to be rather chunky, but you can puree it until it's smooth if you prefer.

The pesto can be made up to a few days ahead of time and kept covered in the refrigerator and it can be served cold or you can heat it up.

• Remove the hearts from the freezer and bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown.
  • Be sure to keep an eye on them during the last few minutes of baking. If the cheese begins to ooze out of the pie crust hearts, remove them from the oven.
  • If some cheese does ooze out, you can cut it off using a knife.
• Serve hot alongside the pesto or marinara sauce.

If you'd like a similarly easy dessert, why not use the second pie crust from the box to make these Chocolate Filled Heart Pastries served with raspberry sauce.

Items used to create this recipe that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)

Video

Recipe originally published on February 11, 2013.

Print

Mozzarella Cheese Filled Hearts with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

 

Heart-shaped pie crust filled with mozzarella cheese are sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and bakes until golden brown. Serve with homemade roasted red pepper pesto for a fun Valentine's Day appetizer.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: appetizer, easy appetizers, Valentine's day recipe

Servings: 12 hearts

Calories: 87 kcal

Author: Beth Klosterboer

Ingredients

Cheese Filled Hearts:

• flour for dusting cutting board
• 1 refrigerated pie crust, ½ of a 15 oz. box , thawed
• ¼ inch thick slices of mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg white
• optional 1-2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto:

• 1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers drained and patted dry
• 1 teaspoon minced roasted garlic
• 2 ounces chopped roasted and salted almonds
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley or fresh basil or prepared basil pesto
• ½ teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cheese Filled Hearts:

1. Unroll pie crust onto a large cutting board.  Cut 24 hearts using the larger heart cutter, re-rolling dough as needed.

2. Cut 12 hearts using the smaller heart cutter out of the mozzarella cheese slices.

3. Brush egg white over one dough heart, place a mozzarella cheese heart in the center, top it with a second dough heart, press the edges of the dough together. Repeat.

4. Crimp edges of hearts with a fork.

5. Brush tops of ravioli with egg white.  Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

6. Optional: Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the tops of each heart. If you prefer you can brush the egg white in a heart pattern on the dough and sprinkle the cheese over top or just leave them plain. I personally like how they look and taste completely covered in the grated Parmesan cheese.

7. Freeze hearts for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and make pesto.

8. Remove the hearts from the freezer and bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown.

9. Serve hot with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto or marinara sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto:

1. Puree roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, roasted almonds, parsley, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese in a food processor, keeping puree somewhat chunky. Add oil and puree just to incorporate the oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour into a small serving bowl.

Recipe Notes

Serving: The Mozzarella Cheese Filled Pie Crust Hearts are best served hot immediately after baking. If you make them ahead, then reheat them in a 250 degree oven until warmed through. 

Serve with: the Roasted Red Pepper Pesto, which can be served hot or cold, or your favorite marinara sauce. 

Puree the Pesto: if you don't have a food processor, you can use a blender to make the pesto. If you have neither, then just chop everything really fine and mix it together by hand.

Calories: 87 calories for 1 heart pastry and 1/12 of the pesto.

I hope you enjoy making these cute Valentine's Day appetizers.

I'd love to see pictures of your fun food creations. You can share in our How to Make Fun Food facebook group. It's a great place to ask questions and learn from others.

If you love making chocolate be sure to check out my Chocolate Making Courses at The Sugar Academy.

Have a sweet day,

Beth

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Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth Jackson Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com

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