Baklava Minis

Here's the thing about baklava: it's freaking amazing.

So, traditional baklava is made in a cake pan and is beastly to cut and dish out and all that jazz, and since I have an affinity for all things mini, I found this recipe that works perfectly for me. So without further ado I present to you, baklava minis:

Ingredients:

Recipe adapted from FoodNetwork.com by Giada De Laurentiis

Baklava

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

7 tablespoons butter, melted, divided

3 tablespoons honey
12 sheets phyllo dough

Sauce

1/4 cup water

1/8 cup sugar

1/8 cup honey

Directions:

(If you've never worked with phyllo before, click here)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the almonds, walnuts, bread crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a food processor. Run the machine until the mixture is very finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and the honey and stir to combine.

On a dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo. Using a pastry brush and the remaining melted butter, lightly cover the entire sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Cover the first sheet with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Continue until there is a stack of 6 sheets of phyllo. Comprende? Good then.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 12 equal pieces (Cut lengthwise into 4 pieces and widthwise into 3 pieces.)

Gently press each cut stack of phyllo into mini-muffin tin cups. Press 1 tablespoon of the nut mixture into each of the phyllo cups.

Gather the ends of each of the phyllo squares and twist to make a sachet shape.

Repeat with remaining phyllo until you have 24 baklava minis, and then brush the tops with any remaining melted butter. Why? Because thou shalt never waste good butter. It's written somewhere...

Bake until the edges of the phyllo are golden, about 18-23 minutes.

Meanwhile, begin making the sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat add the water, sugar, and honey and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until reduced and slightly thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour 1 teaspoon syrup into each cup and allow it to soak in.

When cool enough to handle, remove the baklava minis and transfer to a serving plate. Or, you know, just eat it all right then and there so you don't have to dirty another plate. Either way.

Well done, Greek people. Well done.

Tyropitakia - Greek Cheese Pies

Phyllo (Fillo) dough is basically paper-thin sheets of raw, unleavened flour dough used for making pastries in Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines. You can find it in any grocery store in the frozen food section, next to the pie shells and puff pastry. I buy Athens brand because I like the size of the sheets. Each box comes with two packages, with each package containing about 20 sheets. Since its so thin, it dries out super fast and once you cut the top of the bag and pull it out, you basically need to use all of the dough at that time. I've tried putting it back inside the bag, taping it up, and putting it back in the fridge so I could use it another time, but when I pull it out again, it just shatters, so I'm not sure if it can be done. Anyway, it has become one of my favorite things to bake with...and eat. I was completely intimidated by it for years before I finally decided to take the plunge and give it a whirl a few months ago. And come to find out, it's not hard at all. It's a little fickle and you gotta handle with care, but it's pretty forgiving and makes for fabulous eats.

After consuming roughly half my weight in baklava over the past few months, I really wanted to try something savory, so after much research, I finally found this recipe for Tyropitakia (which I have no idea how to pronounce, so we'll just go with Greek cheese pies). I bookmarked. I tried. I loved. The filling is kinda like ravioli, but the flaky phyllo shell makes it especially unique and delicious...and who are we kidding, the abundance of butter definitely doesn't hurt.

So let's get this show on the road...

Ingredients:

Recipe adapted from FoodNetwork.com by Cat Cora

• 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan or asiago cheese, grated
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• Dried or fresh parsley to taste
• Grated nutmeg to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (I use unsalted)
• 5-6 sheets commercial phyllo pastry

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the filling, combine all the cheeses together with the parsley, nutmeg, pepper, and egg. Mix well. Pull phyllo from the refrigerator and unroll. Be sure to keep it covered so it doesn't dry out while you prepare the pies. I use the plastic that it comes packaged in, covered by a damp towel. Don't be swayed by recipes that tell you to just go ahead and cover it up with a damp towel. If you do this, all your dough will stick together. And you will curse. I promise. Anyway, brush each piece of phyllo with melted butter before cutting. (The silicone brushes work fine, but I'm sure the bristle brushes probably work better.)

Then cut each piece lengthwise into 3 equal strips.

Place a small dollop of the cheese mix in the middle of the top of each strip.

Now you fold. Folding the phyllo is like folding a flag...fold the right corner to the left to form a right angle and then upward. Continue folding at right angles until you reach the top and have a triangle. Place the triangles on an ungreased baking sheet in absolutely no particular order.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on each side.

Mmm...

Makes approximately 15-18 pies.