Tender, flaky puff pastry is filled with a mixture of feta, ricotta and parmesan cheeses, then baked until golden in this simple, savory appetizer.
Last year my youngest son took an International Foods cooking class, and sometimes he came home with samples, like these Three Cheese Phyllo Pockets.
I took one bite and knew we had to try making them at home! Thankfully, he also came home with all of the recipes, and was even willing to help me make a batch of these delicious, cheese-filled pastries.
The trickiest part about this recipe is, of course, working with the phyllo dough. But I figured if a class of eighth graders could manage it, I figured I could too! And it really did end up being quite easy.
The biggest thing to remember when working with delicate phyllo dough is to keep it moist. And thankfully, this particular recipe is pretty forgiving. If your dough tears a little along the way, you’ll still end up with plenty of pastry to cover your filling.
One tip my son learned in his cooking class: don’t stir the butter as you’re using it to brush the dough. There is cornstarch in the phyllo dough that sinks in the butter. If you stir the butter once you start brushing, the cornstarch will turn it into a paste that is very difficult to brush onto the delicate sheets of pastry.
Another great tip is to use a butter flavored spray to coat the dough, rather than using a pastry brush to spread the butter–because that’s when tearing usually occurs. But we used the brush-on method with no problems.
Finally, resist the temptation to use too much filling. That will make the phyllo pockets hard to manage as you roll them up. But don’t worry, you’ll figure out just the right amount after a few tries.
My whole family loved these little cheese-filled appetizers, and I as so impressed that my 13 year-old could pull off this recipe. So if you’re afraid of working with phyllo dough, don’t be. You’ll love these cheesy, savory, flaky morsels!
Be sure to save this recipe for Three Cheese Phyllo Pockets to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Three Cheese Phyllo Pockets
- Feta cheese
- Cream cheese
- Ricotta cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Eggs
- Phyllo dough sheets
- Butter
Three Cheese Phyllo Pockets
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 pound phyllo pastry sheets
- 1 cup butter melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the feta, cream cheese, ricotta, Parmesan and eggs until well combined but slightly lumpy.
- Place the phyllo dough on a large cutting board or flat surface and keep covered with a damp paper towel while working.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two large baking sheets.
- Carefully remove one sheet of dough from the stack and place it in front of you vertically. Using a pastry brush, gently butter the surface of the phyllo sheet.
- Drop a tablespoon of filling in the center of the sheet, about 2 inches up from the bottom edge. Fold the bottom edge up to cover the filling.
- Fold the left edge of the sheet into the center, then fold the right edge over the left edge (do not go past the left edge). You should have a strip of dough about 3 inches wide with the filling tucked into the bottom.
- Starting with the lower left corner, fold the corner of the strip over to the right edge to form a triangle. Continue folding up, then over, until you reach the end of the strip.
- Place folded triangles onto the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with any leftover melted butter.
- Bake until golden and flaky, about 15 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
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Who Dished It Up First: My son’s eighth grade International Foods class
1 comment
Nora
Thank you so very much for this very easy to follow recipe. I’ve been looking for this exact recipe for literally years. I absolutely love how very easy your direction are to follow. My Granddaughter is graduating and then off to College. For her graduation gift she asked me for a Family Cookbook. So her other Grandmother and I are putting one together. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us. Especially because this is one of her favorites. And she wanted it in her Cookbook.
Thanks again Nora