Puff Pastry Baklava Bites

If you love the rich flavors of Baklava but don't have time to make it from scratch, this is the recipe for you. This delicious baklava recipe starts with a simple puff pastry, but it definitely doesn't end there!

I recently went to a large banquet for a ministry I love. Sitting a couple of seats away from me, a Greek mama. 

I wanted to pick her brain but it was hard under the circumstances with a keynote speaker and all. 

I did manage to ask her about baklava. I’ve been looking for a great recipe. She (and her son) dove into a lengthy explanation about her recipe, which seemed time-consuming and tricky. 

The Elusive Baklava Recipe...

She left before I could give her my card and I never got that recipe, something I deeply regret. But, as I stared at a package of puff pastry in my refrigerator I started wondering if, perhaps, I could do a simplified version of baklava, something that could be made in minutes, not hours. 

I went on a journey across the web and found this puff pastry baklava bites recipe from Barefeetinthekitchen. It seemed easy and I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand. 

This version of baklava starts with tiny squares of puff pastry placed in a mini cupcake pan. Each square is filled with the baklava filling, then baked until golden and delicious. 

I’ll share more about the outcome but here’s a quick glance at what you’ll need to make these. 

Puff Pastry Baklava Bite Ingredients

These are simple ingredients you can pick up at any grocery store. (And it’s a short list, which makes these far more economical than traditional baklava.) 

• store bought puff pastry sheet thawed
• finely chopped walnuts (toasted)
• melted butter
• honey
• fresh lemon juice
• ground cinnamon
• additional honey to top (as desired)

How to Make Puff Pastry Baklava Bites

I have to confess, this is one of the simplest (and tastiest) sweet treats I’ve made in a while, (and that’s saying a lot because I baked multiple days a week!) And let's face it: we all love an easy recipe!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Toast your finely chopped walnuts and set aside to cool. (Note: You can use a food processor if you like your pecans finely chopped.)

Prepare a mini cupcake pan by spraying with baking spray. Set aside. 

Make the filling: 

Melt butter and stir in the honey.

Add lemon juice and cinnamon. Stir well. 

Add chopped walnuts and stir. 

Roll out thawed puff pastry.

Cut pastry into 24 squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

Place one square of pastry into each of the 24 muffin cups. 

Using a small scoop (or teaspoon) fill the cups with that delicious nut filling. 

Place in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry begins to turn golden brown. (Mine took a few minutes longer because I set my tray on a cookie sheet to bake evenly.) 

Remove and place on wire rack to cool.

If you like, you can take them out of the pan to continue cooling directly on the rack.

Serve and enjoy!

Store leftovers in airtight container or tightly covered in plastic wrap. 

What to Expect from this Delicious Dessert

I had some friends over on the evening I made these. They arrived right as I pulled them from the oven. (Talk about perfect timing!)

I happily offered these sweet treats to my friends as we visited and I wish I’d written down all of their comments. They absolutely loved them, and I can see why. . .

The crunch of the flaky puff pastry, the rich walnut filling, those luscious honey and cinnamon flavors merged together. It’s all perfection. 

My favorite thing about this is the ease of use. Or, the ease of eating, I guess you would say. They’re bites, which you can hold in your fingers and eat with no mess. No plate. No fork. No need for fancy serving dishes. Just grab and go. 

And I’ll be honest: my friends grabbed a lot of them. And the few that were remaining went home with them in a bakery box for the rest of their family to enjoy. 

All in all I'd say this easy recipe beats homemade baklava on many levels, primarily ease of use! (And ease of eating, of course.)

Variations on this Recipe

This is absolutely perfect just like it is but as I think about the simplicity of this recipe I’m struck with the notion that I could (literally) turn this into pretty much anything I wanted. Here are a few ideas that come to mind: 

Pistachios: Swap out the walnuts for pistachios. Then follow the recipe as directed. (You'll love that rich nutty flavor in these bite-sized treats!)

Pecan Pie Bites: Swap out pecans for the walnuts and dark Kara syrup (or maple syrup) to replace the honey in this easy baklava recipe. Delicious! 

Almond Joy Bites: Combine coconut and a dollop of ganache (or a Hershey’s kiss). 

Phyllo pastry: You can use (or make) Phyllo pastry for this mini baklava recipe, if you like.

Orange zest: You can add a tablespoon of orange zest to the nut filling, if you like. (Delicious!) Another option is a tablespoon of orange juice. For best results, mix it into the filling along with the honey.

Vanilla extract: You can always add vanilla or maple extract to this recipe for an added depth of flavor.

Cinnamon rolls: Puff pastry sheets are so easy and versatile but if you don't have any on hand you can press down cinnamon rolls to use as the base of this recipe.

Other Easy-to-Eat Treats from Out of the Box

• Easy Almond Joy Truffles
• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
• Chocolate Covered Peanuts (Peanut Clusters)
• Easy Chocolate Coconut Balls
• The Ultimate Cinnamon Palmiers

That’s it for this post, friends!

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe for these flaky baklava bites!. 

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you're at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

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