Description
It’s not Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree! These decadent phyllo pastries are filled with nuts, infused with a luscious syrup and presented as a beautiful snow covered pine tree.
Ingredients
24 sheets Athens® Phyllo Dough (9″x14″), thawed
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups almonds, chopped
1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped (+ extra for garnish)
1 3/4 cups sweetened coconut flakes, divided
2 teaspoons orange zest
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
2 2/3 cups sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon orange juice
4″ x 1 1/2″ orange peel
1 small cinnamon stick
1 stick butter, melted
Green food coloring
Directions
Thaw two rolls of phyllo, following thawing instructions on package. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Place almonds, pecans, 3/4 cup coconut flakes, orange zest, cinnamon, bread crumbs and 2/3 cup sugar in a food processor. Pulse 4-5 times just until combined. Add nut mixture to eggs and mix well to combine.
In a medium saucepan combine 2 cups sugar, water and orange juice. Add orange peel and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove syrup from heat.
Unroll and remove 24 sheets of phyllo, cover with plastic wrap, then a slightly damp towel to prevent drying out. Reroll unused sheets and follow storing instructions on package. Place phyllo in a stack on work surface. Cut in half horizontally forming 2 stacks of approximately 7″ x 9″ rectangles. Trim each stack by 1″ resulting in rectangles 6″ x 9″. Place one sheet on work surface with short side near you. Brush half lengthwise with butter and fold unbuttered half onto buttered half, making a strip 3″ x 9″. Repeat procedure to make 48 strips. Be sure to keep all phyllo and phyllo strips covered to prevent drying out.
Lay one buttered phyllo strip on work surface. Place rounded tablespoon of filling about 1/2″ from bottom of strip. Fold lower corner of phyllo diagonally over filling and across to opposite edge forming a triangle. Continue to fold triangle onto itself to the end of strip. Repeat process to create 40 triangles which will become the branches of the pine tree. Use remaining two strips to make phyllo rolls. Spread a line of nut mixture on short end of strips. Lift phyllo over filling and roll to the end of strip. These will become the “trunk” of the tree.
Place triangles and rolls close together on a 13″ x 18″ baking tray and brush with butter. They should be slightly touching. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden. While the triangles and rolls bake, mix 3/4 cup coconut flakes with a few drops of green food coloring (remember, a little goes a long way).
Immediately after removing from oven, ladle evenly with syrup, then sprinkle with green coconut and a little white coconut (to resemble snow). Gently pat coconut onto triangles. This needs to be done right away before the syrup is absorbed. Likewise, pat some pecan pieces onto the rolls (to resemble bark). Allow to sit uncovered at least 4 hours before serving. Arrange phyllo “branches” and “tree trunk” on a serving tray in the shape of a pine tree. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving size: 1 triangle (37g), Amount per serving: Calories 130, Total Fat – 7g, Saturated fat – 3g, Trans Fat – 0g, Cholesterol – 10mg, Sodium – 30mg, Dietary Fiber – 1g, Total Carbohydrate – 17g, Total Sugars – 12g, Protein –2g, Vitamin D – 0%, Calcium 2%, Iron 0%, Potassium 0%
Tips
-Trigona, a traditional Greek nut filled triangular pastry, is not just for the holidays. Coconut topping is optional and they taste great just with the syrup too.
-Triangles can be formed in advance and frozen in airtight containers for two weeks. Bake without defrosting as instructed, may need an additional 5 minutes baking time.
