These crispy, buttery Pistachio Filo “Bird Nests” are a delightful, two-bite treat that is fun to make and completely foolproof even for the beginner baker! Crispy, golden brown filo, pistachio nuts, and a delicious, lemony, simple syrup are the three components of this light and delicious Mediterranean dessert.
Forming the little filo nests is made easy with the help of a small dowel, or, even a thick wooden skewer. Thin sheets of filo are drizzled with melted butter and wrapped around the wooden dowel to form a crinkled filo tube. Then the ends are brought together to form little hollow filo rings.
These Pistachio Filo “Bird Nests” might look delicate and difficult to make, but forming these nests is “a forgiving technique” and you really cannot mess up. No matter how the end product looks, the taste is going to be incredible!
Ingredients for the Pistachio Filo “Bird Nests”
Besides the filo pastry, everything else on the list is simple ingredients that you most probably already have in your pantry!
- Filo pastry 14″ x 18″ – we need only half a box (I used my favorite, Fillo Factory #4, which is the thinest)
- Butter – melted to brush on the filo
- Granulated sugar – for the simple syrup, the filo, and the nuts
- Ground cinnamon – to flavor the sugar which is sprinkled on the filo
- Pistachio nuts – non-toasted, the star of the dish (you can use half pistachios and half walnuts)
- Lemon juice and Lemon zest – to give the simple syrup a lovely depth of flavor
- Honey – optional, to drizzle over the baked filo nests
How to form the filo nests
All you need to form these little wrinkled filo nests is a simple wooden dowel, about 1/4″ to 1/3″ thick and about 14″ long. You can find it easily in any craft store for under a dollar. Alternatively, you can use two long wooden skewers (the ones we use for kebabs), slightly overlapping in the center to add to their length. I have also seen people using a thick knitting needle with great success!
How to make the pistachio filo nests:
- Place one sheet of filo on a surface with the shorter end of it in front of you. With a pastry brush, brush the filo lightly with some melted butter. Sprinkle it with a little of the sugar-cinammon mixture. Fold an inch of the side of the filo closest to you, then place a thin, wooden dowel along the top of that folded side. Roll up the filo around the dowel loosely, leaving an inch at the end after rolling.
2. Using your hands, gently push the rolled-up pastry from both ends towards the center of the dowel to compress the filo and form wrinkles (the finished filo will be about 6″ long).
3. Carefully pull the dowel from the wrinkled filo. Bend the ends to form a ring shape.
4. Lay it on a buttered sheet pan and repeat until you use up all the rest of the filo.
5. Brush lightly the tops of the nests with some melted butter and bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.
6. As soon as the filo nests come out of the oven, pour the syrup evenly over them and allow them to absorb the syrup.
7. Add some of the pistachio mixture to the middle of each nest and drizzle with some warm honey.
8. Place on a platter and serve!
Tips for the best pistachio filo nests:
- Use good quality filo. If the filo is old, or it has been opened before, it will be dry and crumble as you form the nests.
- Ahead of time. Make the simple syrup, bring the package of filo to room temperature, melt the butter, and chop the pistachios.
- Keep the filo covered. While you work with one sheet of filo, keep the rest well covered so it stays soft and pliable.
- Make them the same size. Try to form the little nest about the same size so they bake evenly.
How to serve them
These two-bite treats are best when eaten on the same day. Once they are baked, keep them in a cool room, uncovered, until you need them. To store, cover loosely with wax or parchment paper and keep at room temperature for a couple of days. The syrup will probably be absorbed by the filo the next day, so make sure to drizzle some more syrup before serving.
This delicious recipe is another collaboration with my friends at Fillo Factory. I find their filo dough and puff pastry at Whole Foods, but smaller local stores carry them too. I love the quality of the Fillo Factory products and I always make sure to stash a couple of boxes in the freezer!
- For the filo pastry nests:
- ½ package thin filo pastry, at room temperature
- 6 oz. butter, melted
- 2 TBSPS. granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- For the lemon simple syrup:
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1¼ cups water
- juice of half a lemon
- zest of half a lemon
- For the topping:
- ½ cups pistachio nuts, very finely chopped
- 1 TBSP. sugar
- 2 TBSP. honey, warmed for drizzling (optional)
- Defrost the filo dough overnight in your refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature, about an hour before you plan to make the recipe, still covered in its packaging. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
- Prepare the lemon simple syrup. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and the water to a boil, reduce the temperature to low, and simmer uncovered for 6 minutes. When the syrup has thickened slightly, stir in the lemon juice and the zest, simmer for one more minute, and remove the syrup from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Brush some of it on an unlined sheet pan.
- Open the filo package and unroll the filo dough. Remove 6 sheets of filo (each 14" x 18") and cut through the center of the longer side of the stack, so you are left with 12 sheets of 14" x 9" filo. Return the rest of filo sheets to its packaging and the refrigerator. Make a stack with the 12 sheets of filo that you will need for the recipe, cover them with a piece of plastic wrap, followed by a kitchen towel so it does not dry out.
- Form the filo nests. Place one sheet of filo on a clean surface with the shorter end of it in front of you. With a pastry brush, brush the filo lightly with some melted butter. Sprinkle it with a little of the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Fold an inch of the side of the filo closest to you (which should be the shorter end) over itself, then place a thin, ¼" wooden dowel along the top of that folded side. The idea is that the dowel does not touch the buttered filo (it might stick otherwise). Roll up the filo around the dowel loosely, leaving an inch at the end after rolling (this will become the base of the nests). Using your hands, gently push the rolled-up pastry from both ends towards the center of the dowel to compress the filo and form wrinkles (the finished filo will be about 6" long). Carefully pull the dowel from the wrinkled filo. Bend the ends to form a circle shape and lay it on a buttered sheet pan.
- Form the rest of the filo nests. Repeat until you use up all the rest of the filo. Brush lightly the tops of the nests with some melted butter and bake in a preheated oven, on the middle rack, for about 30 minutes, or, until the filo is golden brown.
- Pour the syrup over filo nests. As soon as the filo nests come out of the oven, pour the syrup evenly over them (about 2 TBSPS. over each nest) and set aside allowing them time to absorb the syrup and cool completely. Some of the syrup will run off the nests, but it will eventually be reabsorbed by the nests as they rest.
- Mix the pistachio nuts with the sugar. Place about one TBSP. of the mixture in the middle of each nest. If using honey, the last step is to warm the honey slightly and drizzle it lightly over all the filo nests. If not, drizzle some of the remaining lemon syrup over the nests.
-- The lemon syrup is probably going to be a bit more than what you need. Save it in a small container and drizzle some over the filo nests the next day, if they need it.
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