Sweet puff pastry bags with cheese filling

Ingredients:

• 100 g of plain goat cheese
• 1 and 1/4 cups whole milk ricotta
• 110 g unsalted butter, melted
• 8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• 0.5 cups of sugar
• 0.5 cups of water
• 15 cardamom pods, crushed with the flat side of a knife (or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom)
• 1 wide strip of orange zest (remove with a vegetable peeler), + 2 tbsp. orange juice
• 2 tbsp roasted salted pistachios, finely chopped

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. In a medium bowl, crumble the goat cheese with a fork, then fold in the ricotta. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with 1 tablespoon melted butter; set aside 1 tablespoon melted butter in a small bowl.
3. With the remaining 6 tablespoons butter, grease the filo pastry: butter one side of a filo pastry sheet, then place 3 more sheets on top, buttering each one.
4. Cut the stack in half lengthwise, then crosswise into thirds to create 6 squares. Press each square into a muffin tin. Repeat with the remaining four sheets of phyllo and melted butter.
5. Evenly distribute the cheese mixture among the cavities, pressing with a spoon to flatten the filling. Fold the edges of the phyllo dough over the filling, leaving a small opening in the center for steam. Brush the tops of the dough with the reserved 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
6. Place the baking sheet on the bottom of the oven and bake until the bags are deep golden brown on the bottom, 5-8 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 190°C (375°F); move the baking sheet with the bags to the middle rack of the oven and continue baking until the tops are golden brown, 30-40 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, water, cardamom, and orange zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, occasionally pressing down on the cardamom pods with a spoon, until syrupy, about 8 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup and stir in the orange juice.
8. Once you remove the bags from the oven, transfer them to a serving dish. Drizzle with about half the syrup. Let sit for a few minutes to absorb the syrup, then sprinkle with pistachios. Drizzle with more syrup and serve warm.