Mini Crab Cakes

This is a great appetizer for a cocktail or dinner party.  They are bite size with a hint of spice.  I got the recipe from "Tracey's Culinary Adventures", but you know I tweaked it a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• ¾ C. Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 egg
• ¼ C. sour cream
• ½ t. lemon zest
• ¼ C. chives, finely chopped
• 1 t. kosher salt
• ½ t. cayenne pepper
• ½ lb. of fresh lump crabmeat
• 1 C. panko breadcrumbs
• ½ stick (4 T.) butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray a mini muffin pan (24) with cooking spray
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese until it is smooth
4. Add ¼ C. of the Parmesan cheese, the egg, sour cream, lemon zest, ½ of the chives, salt, and cayenne pepper
5. Whisk all the ingredients together until well combined, then fold in the crabmeat
6. In another bowl, combine the ½ C. of Parmesan cheese, the other ½ of the chives, and the panko
7. Add the melted butter and toss together with your hands until all the panko is evenly moistened
8. Spoon one teaspoon of the panko mixture in each well, and press to form a crust
9. Top each with a generous tablespoon of the crab mixture
10. Finally sprinkle the top of each with the panko mixture
11. Bake for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown
12. Allow the crab cakes to set for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin pan 

Tips and Tricks:

• Each muffin well will be full with this mixture!  Some may even overflow a bit, that’s OK.
• You can make the crab mixture the day before and refrigerate until ready to make.
• I serve these with my homemade tartar sauce.  Follow my link to find out how I make it.