Method and apparatus for making shaped shells for hors d'oeuvres, snacks and the like, and food articles prepared thereby

An apparatus for molding food articles which is adapted to cut and shape leavened dough from a flat sheet, comprising in combination:

• a plurality of male die members;
• female die members positioned below the male die members, the male die members and the female die members being adapted for nesting with each other and for movement along an axis relatively toward and away from each other;
• means for moving the male die members and the female die members toward and away from each other;
• means for cutting the flat sheet into a plurality of shells during movement of the male die members and the female die members toward each other;
• heating means for molding the cut shells into cup-shaped configurations while the cut shells are located between the nested male die members and the female die members;
• a plurality of spaced apart pin members located on the surface of each of the male die members for removing the shells with the male die members during the separation of the male die members from the female die members;
• and
• means for removing the molded shells from the male die members after the separation of the male die members from the female die members including a ring member surrounding each of the male die members and a means for moving the ring members relative to the male die members in order to remove the molded shells.

An apparatus for molding food articles from dough which is adapted to form a cup-shaped shell suitable for use in making hors d'oeuvres, tarts, and the like, comprising in combination:

• a male die member;
• a female die member positioned below the male die member with at least one of the die members being adapted to be moved along an axis relatively toward and away from the other;
• means for moving the die members relatively toward each other for nesting the male die member in the female die member in a forming operation for shaping the dough into a cup-shaped shell and for moving the die members relatively away from each other for separating the male die member from the female die member after the forming operation;
• means for providing thermal energy to at least one of the die members for heating the shell during the forming operation;
• a plurality of pin members spaced apart from each other on the surface of the male die member, with at least one of the pin members being positioned at an acute angle with respect to the axis of movement of the dies, for removing the shell with the male die member from the female die member;
• and
• means for removing the shell from the male die member after the separation of the male die member from the female die member.