Greek Baklava Mini Triangles

These Greek baklava mini triangles will give you all of the delicious syrup-sweetened crispy pastry layers filled with aromatic nuts in a tiny little package!

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My Greek baklava mini triangles are the perfect dessert for entertaining. Not only is baklava served at room temperature, but it’s also the most popular of all Greek desserts. Traditional baklava is layers of phyllo dough filled with spiced chopped nuts, then soaked in honey syrup. It’s made in a 9×13 inch pan and cut into slices.

However, these mini baklava triangles can be made ahead into individual servings. Simply set them out after dinner at your party, or freeze them and pull out as many as you need for tea time with friends.

Always start with the syrup

Anytime you’re making a syrupy dessert, you start by making the syrup. The syrup needs time to cool down so you can pour it over the hot pastry as soon as it comes out of the oven. It’s essential that one thing is hot and the other is cold so the syrup is absorbed evenly and the pastry stays crispy. Crispy Greek baklava mini triangles are a must!

• Granulated sugar
• Water
• Cinnamon stick
• Pure vanilla extract

Make the syrup by combining the sugar, water, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside to cool completely.

The nut fillng

I use the classic Greek baklava flavors of cinnamon and cloves, but I always go a little heavy on the cinnamon because I love it.

As for the nuts, you can use whatever combination of nuts you like for your mini baklava triangles. I like walnuts and almonds, but you can use pecans, pistachios, macadamias, etc. Use your favorite. If you want to try a twist on classic baklava, you can add some orange zest, dried fruit, or a few mini chocolate chips.

• Ground walnuts
• Ground almonds
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground cloves

Make the nut filling simply by combining the almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl.

Assembling Greek baklava mini triangles

Thaw the phyllo pastry overnight in the refrigerator because phyllo is usually sold frozen. Pull it out of the refrigerator 2 hours before working with it to allow it to come to room temperature. Be sure to leave your phyllo in its packaging while thawing so that it won’t dry out, crumble, or break up. Cold phyllo tears and crumbles easily.

• #4 phyllo –thawed and at room temperature
• Unsalted butter –melted

To assemble the baklava triangles, start by cutting the phyllo into three equal pieces. Use a measuring tape to make sure each section is 3-inches wide. Unwrap one portion of the phyllo and unroll it. Layer 3 sheets on top of each other, drizzling melted butter between each of the layers of phyllo.

Place about 2 teaspoons of the nut filling on the bottom of the strip and fold it up flag-style (see video). Place the triangles on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.

Make-ahead, freeze, and bake

Now that you have your Greek baklava mini triangles assembled, you can bake them or freeze them. If freezing for later, cover the tray with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can pull the entire tray out to bake when ready or pull out as many as you’d like to serve at a time. Follow the exact thawing instructions as the phyllo-thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature on the counter before baking.

When you’re ready to bake your baklava triangles, brush the tops of the pastries with the remaining melted butter, and bake the tray on the center rack of the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden.

As soon as the pastries come out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup over the pastries and allow them to cool for an hour.

Serving

You don’t really need anything to eat with these delicious, sweet, nutty pastries, but I love to have a hot cup of Greek coffee with it. They go perfectly with a nice cup of tea or as a dessert for any meal. As I said, these Greek baklava mini triangles are a hit when entertaining!

Enjoy!

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Baklava Triangles

Yield: makes about 37 triangles

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Ingredients

• 1 pound (#4) phyllo, thawed and at room temperature
• 12 oz unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup ground walnuts
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

The Syrup

• 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.

Make the Syrup: Combine the sugar, water, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan and mix them together. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside to cool completely.

Make the Nut Filling: Combine the almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl and mix them together.

Assemble the Baklava Triangles: Cut the phyllo into three equal pieces (3-inches wide). Unwrap one portion and unroll it. Layer 3 sheets on top of each other. Drizzle melted butter over each of the layers of phyllo.

Place about 2 teaspoons of the nut filling on the bottom of the strip and fold it up flag-style (see video). Place the triangles on a baking tray that has been lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops of the pastries with the remaining melted butter.

Bake the tray on the center rack of the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden.

As soon as the pastries come out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup over top and allow them to cool for an hour.

Serve with Greek coffee. Enjoy!

Notes

Thaw the phyllo pastry overnight in the refrigerator because it is usually sold frozen. 2 hours before working with the phyllo set it at room temperature, in its packaging, so that it will be easy to work with. Cold phyllo tears and crumbles easily. The walnuts can be substituted with pecans. The nuts and raisins can be left out of the recipe altogether if desired. Make-Ahead Tips: Assemble the pastries and allow them to freeze. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and store in the freezer up to 2 months. Bake them at 350 °F until golden all around and follow the remaining syrup instructions.

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