I'd never had them anywhere else, until Norm and I went to a steakhouse downtown on our honeymoon weekend. We were served warm, flaky phyllo pastries stuffed with feta cheese as complimentary hors d'oeuvres.
This is my mom's recipe.
Make these ahead of time and freeze; bake in the oven when you are entertaining.
- 1 package (1 lb) phyllo pastry leaves
- 1/4 lb. melted butter
- 1 lb. feta cheese (rinse feta before storing in fridge)
- 1 lb. dry cottage cheese
- salt to taste
- 4 well-beaten eggs
Mix cheese with salt and beaten eggs, cover.
Cut each sheet of phyllo dough into six triangular pieces.
Cut each sheet of phyllo dough into six triangular pieces.
Keep the sheets of dough you are not working with, covered with a damp cloth, so they do not dry out. Brush pieces with melted butter.
Place a heaping teaspoonful of cheese in each triangle.
Fold over and pinch edges.
Use a pastry brush to brush tops with more melted butter.
Freeze on a baking sheet.
When frozen, pack in airtight containers or freezer bags and put back in freezer.
To bake and serve, take directly from freezer and place on cookie sheets
Cook frozen unbaked phyllo cheese triangles in a preheated 425 degree oven, for 10 minutes or until golden. Makes 96.
To bake non-frozen pastries: If you want to bake them right away, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place phyllo cheese triangles on a greased cookie sheet no closer than 1 inch to the edge of the pan. Bake 15 minutes or until golden. When cooled, you can freeze baked phyllo cheese triangles. To reheat pre-baked frozen pastries, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. and reheat till warm.
