I may have mentioned before that during the summer months a bunch of people living in my community gather once a week at the outdoor pavilion on our property for what we call “happy hour”. That entails everyone adhering to byob and, if so inclined, bringing some sort of appetizer for everyone to share.
There are some weeks when I get creative and make a homemade appetizer and others where I just buy something at the grocery store either already pre-made or needing to be baked in the oven. Last week I felt adventurous and tried these crab dip cups and they were a huge hit. So, I thought I would share the recipe with you.
These little bites could’t be tastier and so easy to just pop in your mouth – perfect for happy hour or your next party. So let’s talk crab dip cups…
Lesson Learned 1 – Using crab claw meat is perfectly fine: Some recipes that I looked at called for using lump crab meat. Lump crab is almost twice as expensive as crab claw meat. I recommend using claw meat as it’s equally as tasty and less expensive. And it’s actual crab meat and not the crab substitutes you often see in grocery stores. Just make sure you rinse the claw meat in cold water and and check with your fingers to make sure there are no shells in the meat.
Lesson Learned 2 – Phyllo cups are amazing!: If you’ve never worked with frozen phyllo dough cups before you’re missing out on something special. They come in a pack of twelve already baked and all you have to do is thaw and serve. I let mine thaw on the counter for about 30 minutes or so and they were ready to go. Everyone remarked at how light and flaky they were. And guess what – no work on your part. I will definitely try more appetizers using frozen phyllo cups!
Lesson Learned 3 – If you can, let the crab mixture sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving: I’ve found out with so many mixtures that if you allow the ingredients some time to get acquainted the end result tastes so much better. Once you mix together all of the ingredients for the crab dip, let them sit in the refrigerator for an hour or so – the appetizer will taste even better.
Lesson Learned 4 – This recipe makes 12 or 24 cups: The beauty of this recipe is that it can fill 24 phyllo cups. I preferred mounding the cups and so I only served 12. So depending on how many you want, you can serve either 12 or 24.
And there you have it. Simply mix the ingredients of the crab dip together, spoon some in a phyllo cup, arrange on a platter and serve. Trust me, this will be a hit at your next get together with hardly any work on your part. Enjoy!
Crab Dip Cups...
INGREDIENTS:
1 7.5 ounce container of crab claw meat
1 7.5 ounce container of garden vegetable cream cheese (you can use reduced fat)
1/2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 Tbs. fresh chives, chopped
1-2 packages of frozen phyllo cups thawed (depending how full you fill the cups)
Chopped Flat leaf parsley for garnish, optional
DIRECTIONS:
Bring the cream cheese close to room temperature (this is already a soft cream cheese so it shouldn’t take too long). Thaw the phyllo cups on the counter for at least one half hour.
Rinse the crab claw meat and check with your fingers to make sure there are no bits of shell in the meat. Drain the crab claw meat and put into a medium sized bowl. Add the cream cheese, old bay and chives. Stir carefully to combine.
With a spoon, mound a generous amount of the crab mixture into each phyllo cup. Arrange the cups on a serving platter. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Serving Suggestion
You Betcha Can Make This! 