Recipes
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Our recipes with phyllo (sometimes spelled filo) pastry go beyond that ever-so-famous traditional Greek spinach pie called spanakopita. They go beyond Balkan burek. They make up a short but diverse list of sweet and savory treats you can create with this freezer-aisle miracle.
Now, a warning: The total time it takes to make any dish involving phyllo is, well… It’s not a zippy process. You’ve got to refrigerate frozen phyllo for about 8 hours or overnight to allow it to thaw, then leave it at room temperature for another hour or two until all the sheets are pliable. (This will help you avoid cracks, and you really can’t rush the process.)
Once you’re working with the thin layers, you’ll need to brush or spritz each with butter or olive oil. This takes time, so you’ll want to keep the rest of the dough safe from the elements so that it doesn’t dry out. (Which it tends to do. Quickly.) Plastic wrap or a barely damp kitchen towel is best; parchment paper won’t do the trick.
Okay? Okay! Here are our best ideas for using phyllo.
Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua
Recipes Cinnamon Crunch Crinkle Pie
Drizzling the layers of phyllo with melted butter rather than brushing them is the secret to this airy pastry. And don’t worry if the sheets tear a bit: It’s hard to tell once this phyllo dough recipe is fully assembled.
Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
Recipes Cheesy Sesame Phyllo Bites
What would a list of recipes for phyllo be without a savory, cheesy, bite-size cocktail party appetizer? This is the kind of flaky phyllo treat that’s meant to nibble alongside an ice-cold martini.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman
Recipes Guava and Goat Cheese Phyllo Pie
Don’t call it a cheesecake. This showstopping cheese pie gets finished with a drizzling of glossy guava syrup, which we’ve discovered is also delicious on top of vanilla ice cream as well as on ricotta toast.
Photo by Brian Leatart
Recipes Autumn Apple Strudel
This may look like apple pie, but it is, in fact, a strudel. A strudel uses a very thin dough—in this case, phyllo—that’s rolled around the filling, while a pie recipe will call for a thicker bottom crust. Bonus: You only need a baking sheet to make a strudel.