Greek Cheese Puffs

Greek Cheese Puffs, called Tiropitakia in Greek, are crispy phyllo dough triangles filled with a bold feta cheese filling. They are the perfect little appetizer. I like to serve them hot out of the oven with some cold appetizers like Olives and Salami, my Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs, or Grilled Artichokes.

Cooking with Mrs. Maltezos

Joe’s “other brother”, George, is Greek. When his mom, Mrs. Maltezos, would come to visit I always made a point of cooking with her. I wrote down the recipes as best I could as she didn’t measure anything (and didn’t speak much English for that matter). We bonded over cooking. She was the stereotypical little old Greek woman who acted like I never did anything right, but deep down she was thrilled that I would spend time cooking with her. She made sure to tell her sons how much she liked me. This is one of her recipes.

Greek Cheese Puffs freeze well

This recipe makes a lot of Greek Cheese Puffs so we would bake some and freeze the rest. That worked out great. When you want some there is no need to defrost them. Just put them in the oven and bake them. You’ll have a quick appetizer or snack in minutes.

Working with phyllo dough

Don’t be afraid to work with phyllo dough. It can be a little tricky, but you’ll get the hang of it. Just remember a few tips, first defrost your phyllo dough overnight in the refrigerator. Secondly, when you have it out on the counter, be sure to keep it covered with a damp cloth. You don’t want it to dry out. Lastly, be gently with it. Don’t brush it too hard or yank it. If it tears a little, its ok as you’ll fold these cheese puffs up like a flag so there will be many layers of phyllo. No one will notice if they aren’t perfect. They will still taste delicious!

Greek Cheese Puffs

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Recipe by Margaret Sanfelippo Course: AppetizersCuisine: GreekDifficulty: Medium

Servings

15

servings

Prep time

45

minutes

Baking time

15

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

Greek Cheese Puffs are crispy phyllo dough triangles filled with a bold feta cheese filling.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp 2 butter

• 1 1/2 tbsp 1 1/2 flour

• 1/2 cup 1/2 milk

• 8 oz 8 feta cheese

• 1 1/2 tbsp 1 1/2 breadcrumbs

• 3 3 eggs

• 17 17 sheets of phyllo dough

• 6 tbsp 6 butter, melted

Directions

• Melt 2 tbsp butter in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add the flour and stir together. Cook for about a minute. Add the milk and gently whisk until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

  • 

• In a medium sized bowl, combine the feta cheese, the breadcrumbs and the eggs. Mash all the ingredients together with a fork. Stir in the milk mixture.

  • 

• Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on the kitchen counter and with a pastry brush gently brush it with some melted butter. Very carefully cut the sheet of phyllo dough into 3 long pieces about 3 inches wide.
• Place a small spoonful of the feta cheese mixture (about 3/4 tbsp) toward the bottom of each strip of phyllo dough. Very gently fold it into a triangle, like you are folding a flag. Brush butter on the outside of each cheese puff triangle. Place on a baking sheet. Continue making cheese puff triangles with the rest of the phyllo dough until all the filling has been used. (Makes about 50 puffs)

  • 

• Heat the oven to 350F. Bake the cheese puffs until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes

• These Greek cheese puffs freeze well. You can freeze them between sheets of plastic wrap in a ziplock bag. When ready to bake them, just remove from the plastic and place on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown.