Bulgarian Crispy Feta Cheese Triangles

Name: Bulgarian Crispy Feta Cheese Triangles
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Bulgarian
Ingredients: Phyllo dough sheets; Butter, melted; Feta cheese; 1 egg; 1 Tbsp yogurt

Easy, crispy, and sooo good — buttery phyllo folded around creamy feta.

Serves

About 12 triangles

Time

30 min

Crispy phyllo triangles filled with a soft, creamy feta mixture and baked until golden. Folded flag-style like the Bulgarian banichki Toti grew up with — perfect with a bowl of cold yogurt for dipping.

Instructions

1
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2
Lay one sheet of phyllo dough and brush with melted butter. Place a second sheet on top and brush again with butter.
3
Cut into strips from the shorter side.
4
In a bowl, mash and mix the feta cheese, egg, and 1 Tbsp yogurt. Mix well, but don't make it too runny.
5
Place a small amount of filling at the end of each strip.
6
Fold into triangles, like a flag, until you reach the end of the strip.
7
Place on a baking tray and brush the tops with more melted butter.
8
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden and crispy.

Toti’s Tips

✓Skip the added salt in the filling since feta is naturally salty, and doubling up can make the whole triangle taste too sharp.
✓Keep the unused phyllo sheets covered with a damp towel while you work. Phyllo is very thin and dries out in minutes, turning brittle and impossible to fold without cracking.
✓Do not overfill each strip, since too much filling makes the triangle bulge and split open at the seams as the phyllo puffs and shrinks slightly in the oven.
✓Mix the feta, egg, and yogurt until it holds together but is not runny. A wet filling will seep through the phyllo layers and turn the crust soggy instead of crisp.
✓Brush both the folded strip and the finished triangle top with melted butter, since it's the butter between the layers that creates the shattering, flaky texture as it bakes.
✓Serve them warm with cold yogurt on the side. The cool creamy dip balances the hot, crisp, salty triangles nicely.