Homemade Mini Phyllo Cups

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Homemade Mini Phyllo Cups are a miniature pastry with big possibilities- fill these buttery, flaky cups, with any kind of filling for delicious finger food.

mini phyllo cups on a wire rack.

Homemade Mini Phyllo Cups

I can think of a million reasons you may need some finger food/appetizer knowledge. Baby/bridal showers, birthday parties, Super Bowl parties, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and any of event in the middle. Mini phyllo cups are those adorable little pastry shells that you can buy in the freezer section and fill with anything from taco meat and toppings to desserty puddings and fruits. If you’ve never had them they are light and super flaky, very fun to eat and have a fancier air about them than some other finger foods.

I was looking at them the other day at the store and the pre-made mini phyllo cups are so much more expensive than sheets of phyllo dough. Not only is the dough cheaper per box than the premade shells, but you can also make about four times as many shells out of the dough compared to how many come in the box of pre-made cups. So that makes it much, much cheaper. So I thought I’d share how you make homemade mini phyllo cups to save you a buck and to give you some fun appetizer ideas.

golden mini phyllo cups on a wire cooling rack

What can I put inside phyllo cups?

I’ve done mainly desserts with these. I like to do a simple no-bake cheesecake filling (or cook-and-serve pudding) and then top with pie filling or fruit, but there are plenty of savory things that could go in as well.

Can you keep phyllo cups in the freezer?

Baked phyllo cups can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month. The cups can be reheated in the oven. If your cups already have filling inside them, be sure to check if the filling will keep in the freezer before you store them.

What’s the Difference Between Phyllo and Puff Pastry?

Phyllo dough is much thinner and has less fat than puff pastry dough. Phyllo is traditionally used in Greek dishes and can be more brittle than puff pastry. On the other hand, puff pastry is much thicker than phyllo and is denser. Phyllo is a great option for these mini cups because they are so light!

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Homemade Mini Phyllo Cups


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4.7 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Melissa Griffiths- Bless This Mess
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 12 mini cups 1x

Description

Homemade Mini Phyllo Cups are a miniature pastry with big possibilities- fill these buttery, flaky cups, with any kind of filling for delicious finger food.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 sheets phyllo dough (in the freezer section), thawed
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Get the phyllo dough ready by opening the thawed package and putting all of the sheets of dough on large clean cookie sheet.
  2. Cover the sheets of dough with a piece of wax paper and then put a damp kitchen towel on top of the waxed paper. Phyllo dough is super thin and dries out really quickly. The wax paper covers it and then the wet towel weighs down on it (without getting the dough wet) so that air can’t get in. You gotta do this step.
  3. Melt your butter, grab your pastry brush and a pizza cutter or knife. When you are ready put one piece of phyllo dough on a large cutting board, cover the rest, and then carefully but quickly brush it with butter.
  4. Place another sheet on top and repeat until you have 5 sheets of dough total. Brush the top sheet with butter too.
  5. Cut the phyllo dough into 12 rectangles (the sheets are rectangles, so cut the long side into 4 pieces and the short side into 3 pieces).
  6. Pick up one rectangle and push the center into the bottom of the muffin tin holes. Press on the sides gently to make a cup. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
  7. Bake until they are golden, about 10 minutes, being careful not to let them burn. Cool completely before using.

Notes

If you know you are going to fill them with something sweet you can sprinkle a bit of sugar in between each layer after the butter is brushed on. So good!

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Appetizers, Desserts
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Method from theKitchn

Filling Options:

Other Appetizer Recipes:

This post was originally published in 2013 and has been updated in July 2019.

These Homemade Mini Phyllo Cups are an excellent finger food for any occasion- the perfect flaky crust to convey and compliment any flavor you choose to put inside.

About Melissa

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17 Comments

  1. Following this recipe exactly will make phyllo dough cups that are way too big. If you really want small ones that would fit in mini muffin tins, you need to use 4 sheets of dough and cut them in 3″ squares.