Proud Italian Cook

Savory Artichoke Pie With And Without A Crust

April 2, 2025 by Marie Leave a Comment

Artichoke pie is seriously so easy to throw together and it’s always a hit. The best part is you can make it with or without a crust and either way you choose it’s so delicious.

Artichoke pie is perfect for Easter and mother’s Day brunch, an appetizer, lunch or a main course dinner and it pairs very well with a beautiful salad on the side.

It’s so easy to make with canned artichokes, a frozen pre-made pie crust, a refrigerated pie crust, a homemade one or if you prefer, totally without a crust. Take it from me, it’s all good!

Artichokes, creamy mozzarella, grated cheese, fresh herbs and a little ricotta make up this perfect savory pie.

Here I used a prepared frozen pie crust and it was every bit of delicious!

For a little twist I served it with some warm marinara, but I’ve been know to cut off a chunk straight from the fridge and enjoy it just as much.

Enjoy!

Artichoke Pie With And Without A Crust

A delicious, savory artichoke pie served up for any occasion, with or without a crust.

Author: Marie

Ingredients

a 9 inch deep dish pie crust, either 1 frozen prepared crust, or 1 refrigerated pie crust, homemade or even just crustless
2 cans of artichoke hearts, drained over a strainer then squished with your hands so all liquid is released from the artichokes, that's ok if they're broken up, this is an important step!
4 eggs whisked
⅓ cup pecorino romano, more for sprinkling on top
2 garlic cloves grated, on the small side
1- ½ heaping cup of shredded mozzarella, do not use pre- shredded, shred it yourself
¼ cup of ricotta, drained well
fresh chopped parsley and basil, about 2 generous tablespoons each
olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

pre-heat oven to 350 Use a 9 inch deep dish pie crust.
In a large bowl toss in the well drained artichoke hearts, the eggs, mozzarella, pecorino, garlic, ricotta, parsley and basil, season with black pepper and a little salt. Mix well.
If doing crustless, just grease your casserole dish with olive oil and proceed as follows.
Pat the mixture into your prepared pie crust, ( omit if crustless) no need to pre-bake spread mixture all around and pat into the pie dish.
Sprinkle top with grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
Bake at 350 for around 40 minutes or until top gets a nice golden brown color.
Best served warm not hot or at room temperature ( but I like it cold too!)

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Appetizers, Party Foods, Pies, Savory Tarts, Vegetables Tagged: artichoke, artichoke pie, crusted artichoke pie, crustless artichoke pie, savory pie

Italian Butter Cookies With Sprinkles For Spring

March 10, 2025 by Marie 1 Comment

If you walk into any Italian American bakery you’ll be sure to find these Italian butter cookies, they’re also known as sprinkle cookies. They’re buttery, not too sweet with a shortbread like texture and they’re very classic and traditional.

They’re surprisingly easy to make, just a few ingredients and you can whip these up in no time, the most challenging thing is piping the cookies out, it takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, it goes fast.

I ordered both my piping bag and tips from Amazon. I use the large 16 inch disposable bags, they come in a pack with quite a few and very reasonably priced, and for the piping tip I used a large star tip Ateco 869, very reasonably priced as well.

As far as the shapes of these butter cookies the sky is the limit. You can do singles like I did, circles, thumbprint, you can do figure eights or arches or just sandwich two together using jelly or chocolate for the “glue”. Either way you can’t go wrong.

You’ll want to dip the tips into melted chocolate, you can use dark, white or milk, this will allow the sprinkles to stick and give you that characteristic Italian butter cookie look.

I chose a good quality white chocolate for these with pastel colored sprinkles for a springy, Easter look but believe me if you want to dip them in dark chocolate go right ahead. I made a big batch of the dark chocolate dipped ones last Christmas, with all different kinds of sprinkles and crushed nuts and gave them away as gifts.

They look pretty and festive for any occasion and they taste amazing because with just a few ingredients it’s imperative to not skimp on the quality of the butter, chocolate, eggs and vanilla that you use, it really does make a world of difference.

I prefer these homemade ones over anything store bought, so rich and delicious and they’re a heck of a lot cheaper per pound than any bakery I know!

The white chocolate with pastels screams spring, don’t you think?

Here’s a photo of the dark chocolate dipped ones I made last Christmas, I think my piping skills have improved a little since then!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Italian Butter Sprinkle Cookies For Spring

Rich, buttery Italian butter cookies, sprinkle cookies for spring and beyond!

Author: Marie

Serves: 21

Ingredients

1 cup of very good quality unsalted butter, room temperature, try a European one like Pulgra
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg and 1 egg yolk, large
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla not imitation
2¼ cups flour
pinch of salt
1 to 2 tablespoons of cream if needed to pipe easier
12 oz. good quality white, dark or milk chocolate, not candy melts
sprinkles of your choice

Instructions

The butter and eggs must be at room temperature.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl using a stand mixer or hand mixer cream the butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy.
Add the eggs and vanilla until combined.
Whisk together the salt and the flour then add to the butter mixture a little at a time on low speed until combined.
If the dough seems too dry add the cream little by little, if too wet add a tiny bit more flour.
Place dough into piping bag ( source in the post) I also use a tall glass to hold the bag while I'm filling it, leave enough room on top so the dough doesn't squish out.
Start piping on your parchment, for the ones I made I they were about 2 inches long but and leave some space between for them to spread a little.
Place the baking pan with the piped cookies into the fridge for ½ hour for better results before baking.
Pre-heat oven to 350 and bake them 15-18 minutes with the bottom having a nice golden color.
Cool COMPLETELY on a rack before dipping in chocolate.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave in a small bowl, 30 second increments, I added a ¼ teaspoon of coconut oil to my chocolate for smoother and glossier texture.
Dip one side of the cookie into the chocolate then over a bowl add the sprinkles and place the cookies back onto a clean baking pan with parchment.
Put the pan into the fridge so the chocolate gets nice and hard and sets well.
Stores well on the counter in a container with wax paper between them, they also freeze well for a month.

1 Comment Filed Under: Cookies, Desserts, Party Foods, Spring Tagged: buttercookies, Easter cookies, Italian butter cookies, spring cookies, sprinkle cookies

Cacio e Pepe Baked Chicken Wings

February 3, 2025 by Marie Leave a Comment

Did you know that the three most consumed foods at Super Bowl parties are, wings, pizza and chips and dips? So this recipe is just in time for game day!

These Cacio e Pepe wings are baked not fried and they’re not loaded with a ton of sauce covering them all over.

Cacio e pepe just means cheese and pepper, so with just a few quality ingredients you can make these and not feel so guilty eating heavy fried and sauced wings.

You must use freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, some people use freshly grated Pecorino Romano as well, but I prefer the Parmigiano, it’s so delicious and compliments the chicken so well.

You’ll also need lots of pepper, which is key to this recipe, finely and course ground.

Of course to start out with you’ll need some good quality chicken, and for this I just use the drumette and flats of the wings. If the wings are whole you can just slice between the drumette and flat part and just cut off the tips. I save the tips for stock in my freezer.

I also marinate them with some finely course ground pepper, olive oil, a little granulated garlic, salt and pepper, you can do it over night or a couple of hours ahead of time.

Another key to this recipe, since they are baked, is to cook them on a rack, it really does make a difference. You can also air fry them but I wanted to do a large amount at once, so it’s up to you and how much you’ll be cooking at once.

The rack gets them nice and crispy, only turning them once at 425.

To be honest with you these cacio e pepe wings don’t need any dip, eat them as is, they’re so delicious, but if you choose a side they’re good with some veggies and dip for that.

This is a ricotta dip with veggies, it goes well to complete the meal.

Just remember the more pepper and cheese the better, don’t be shy!

Cacio e Pepe Baked Chicken Wings

Cheesy and peppery baked wings cacio e pepe style.

Author: Marie

Ingredients

3 lb. organic chicken wings, patted dry, drumettes and flats only, or already prepped party style wings
Freshly grated and fluffy Parmigiano Reggiano, 2 cups at least, measure with your heart
2 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
course ground pepper for finishing all over, 1 or 2 teaspoons, measure with your heart and to taste
3 -4 tablespoons of melted butter to toss the cooked wings into, the butter helps the cheese to stick
granulated garlic
olive oil
salt
fresh chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

In a large bowl or container toss your patted dry wings into it with a drizzle of olive oil, the finely ground black pepper, salt, and a sprinkling of granulated garlic. Toss altogether nicely and marinate over night or an hour or two before.
If using a rack, spray it with olive oil, place on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment.
Arrange the wings single layer on the rack and place into a pre-heated oven at 425, I used convection roast for mine.
After 20 minutes, turn the wings over and do another 20 minutes, but maybe yours will be done sooner or even later, look for a deep golden color, ovens do vary.
When wings are done grab a big bowl, add the melted butter and toss in the cooked wings, coating them all.
Place them onto a big platter and add the cheese all over and the coursely ground pepper, tossing and coating, taste for salt, pepper or more cheese to your liking.
Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley for garnish.
Enjoy!