Description

These little triangles have all the yummy goodness of Greek baklava compresssed into just three layers of phyllo. They take minutes to put together and disappear just as fast

Scale

Ingredients

1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachio nuts (70 g)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter (55 g)
1/4 cup honey (60 mL)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 roll of 9-by-13-in phyllo pastry sheets, defrosted (23-by-33-cm)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. Cut two pieces of parchment paper to fit exactly into a baking sheet and a third sheet that is slightly larger. Place the nuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped, the consistency of cornmeal. Set aside. In a small microwave-safe measuring cup or a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the honey, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to combine.
Place one smaller sheet of the parchment paper on a work surface. Center one sheet of phyllo pastry on the paper. Keep the other sheets of pastry covered with a damp dish towel to keep them from drying out. Drizzle 1 1/2 tbsp of the butter mixture over the phyllo sheet and then use a pastry brush to distribute the butter mixture evenly over the pastry. Sprinkle a generous 2 tbsp of the pistachio mixture over the pastry, and then top with a second sheet of phyllo, lining up the edges exactly to make a neat stack. Press down on the top sheet to adhere the layers.
Repeat the process again, brushing the second sheet of phyllo with 1 1/2 tbsp of the butter mixture and topping with 2 tbsp of the nut mixture. Place a third layer of pastry on top of the first two and press firmly to adhere the layers.
Transfer the stack of buttered phyllo pastry on the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Cover with the larger piece of parchment paper, and then place a baking sheet or inverted cooking rack directly on top of the phyllo stack to weigh it down. Bake until the dough is rich golden brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once from front to back while baking, and peeking after 8 mintues to check for doneness.
Remove the whole setup from the oven and let the pastry stack cool for 10 minutes with the baking sheet still on top of the pastry. (This weighted cooling time will keep the phyllo layers from coming apart when you’re cutting them into triangles.)
Remove the top baking sheet and top parchment paper (reserve for the second batch), and transfer the phyllo stack on its bottom layer of parchment paper to a cutting board. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the phyllo stack in half lengthwise. Cut the stack crosswise three times to create eight squares and then cut each square diagonally to create 16 triangles.
Repeat the buttering and layering process with the remaining phyllo sheets, butter mixture and nut mixture. Bake, cool, and cut as with the first batch, reusing the top piece of parchment paper when baking the second batch. (Refreeze unused phyllo sheets for another use.)
When the crisps are completely cool, transfer them to an airtight container. The crisps are best eaten within 1 day.

Notes

Ivy’s note: Honey is the dominant flavour here, so this is a good time to splurge on single-flower honey. Experiment with local single-source honeys from your farmers’ market; you’ll be surprised at the difference between the commodity “honey bear” stuff and artisanal honey collected from carefully tended bees.

My note: Taking a hint from Ivy’s notes. I made mine with honey gathered from the apiary atop the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto. I think the bees would approve.