Triple Berry Baklava Bites
Delicate little pouches of heaven, Triple Berry Baklava Bites are crisp and sweet. Filled with a blend of dried berries and nuts, sweetened with honey and the perfect size for popping in your mouth. One bite and you’ll be hooked.
Baklava is a gift from the gods. The Greek gods if I remember correctly. My recollection of Greek mythology is a bit fuzzy these days since my obsession with all things Zeus and his clan waned about 20+ years ago. Yep, I’m old. But that’s probably when my food obsession started to take hold. We had to bring foods related to Greek mythology to class one day. I THINK it was 9th grade. Anyway….I can’t tell you what I shared with the class…probably grapes or something simple like that. I wasn’t quite in love with figs and I had the palate of a 5 year old at that point. What I CAN tell you is someone brought baklava. A genius… brought baklava. I had never heard of this amazingly flaky, sweet concoction before. Never, ever, ever…but I was obsessed. It satisfied my sweet tooth like nothing ever could. It was seriously the best thing ever.
Flash forward a few years….like 20. 🙂 I still love it but, because of it’s addictively sweet personality, I try to avoid it as much as I can. Plus, it’s tedious to make and, unless you have a greek bakery near by, sometimes hard to find. I never had the desire to make it because it scared me. Those flaky, crispy, buttery layers didn’t happen by accident. That was love, someone else’s love and hard work and time….lots and lots of time. I like things quick and easy like THESE little bites of holiday heaven that require no baking whatsoever.
These Triple Berry Baklava Bites are the answer to my prayers. I saw Giada make something similar and I thought they would a great addition to a holiday cookie tray. Delicate and dainty, sweet but not too much sweet. Bite-sized so you can exercise portion control….or pop ’em like you’re carb loading. Whatever, they are amazing and addicting and, did I say, amazing?
The phyllo is a little tricky to work with but not difficult. I kept mine covered with a damp towel while I worked because it dries out quickly. This is key to keeping your dough from cracking. Other than that, these are super easy to make. The only problem you will have is trying not to eat all of them as they’re cooling. But I can’t help you there. I love working with ready made phyllo and puff pastry because they make everything so simple. THESE easy palmiers are made with puff pastry but are equally quick and fool proof!
Recipe adapted from Giada DeLaurentis’ Simple Baklava
Get the Recipe: Triple Berry Baklava Bites
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/4 cup chopped dried mixed berries, I used cranberries, blueberries and cherries
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 stick butter, melted, divided
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 12 sheets phyllo dough
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the almonds, pecans, berries, bread crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor. Process the mixture until it 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 clean, dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo. Using a pastry brush and the remaining melted butter, lightly brush 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. Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 12 equal pieces.
- Gently press each cut piece of phyllo into the mini-muffin tin cups. Press 1 tablespoon of the nut mixture into each phyllo cup. Fold the corners of the dough into the center of the filling and press gently to seal. Continue shaping the remaining bites in the other mini-muffin tin. Bake until the edges of the phyllo are golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. Once cooled, remove the baklava bites and transfer to a serving plate.
3 Comments on “Triple Berry Baklava Bites”
What a great way to make bite-size and no-mess baklava! These would be perfect for a crowd, and the addition of the berries seems like it would be a great balance to a sweet dessert.
I just posted Baklava Cookies yesterday! These look way easier to make than regular Baklava. Yum!
What a great way to make baklava. I love that they are small bites and the addition of berries.