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Trigona, almond pastry triangles on a serving plate with a white holiday environment.
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Almond Pastry Christmas Triangles

Trigona - Christmas almond pastry triangles are a delicious dessert flavored with vanilla and lemon, and baked until crispy perfection. 
Course Dessert, Holidays
Cuisine Greek
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 55 pieces
Calories 145kcal

Equipment

  • Rimmed baking sheet
  • Parchment paper
  • Medium pot
  • Food processor or a mortar and pestle
  • Food grade brush

Ingredients

  • 3.5 cups blanched almonds 500 gr
  • cups cane sugar 500 gr
  • cup coarse semolina
  • 1 vanilla bean pod
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 16 oz thin phyllo pastry One packet of phyllo #4, 14" x 18"
  • 1 cup butter melted
  • ½ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Ground the almonds in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle. Avoid grinding them too much. Go for medium-small pieces.
  • Place the sugar and 1 cup of water in a large pot over medium heat. Stir for sugar to melt.
  • Add the ground almonds and stir.
  • When the mixture starts to boil add the semolina, juice from the lemon and vanilla beans seeds. Stir well and remove from heat.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time while stirring well. The filling is ready. Set aside and prepare the phyllo.
  • Heat the oven to 350°F
  • Divide and cut the phyllo roll into five equal pieces.
  • Unfold only one of the rolls and keep the rest under a damp towel to keep them moist.
    Open up the roll and keep the phyllo sheets stacked on top of each other.
    Start with the one on top. 
  • Brush some melted butter on all the phyllo surface.
  • Place a full teaspoon of the almond filling approximately 2.5 inches (6 cm) in from the edge, centered.
  • Very gently, lift the upper left corner and fold down diagonally creating an isosceles triangle shape. You will have some extra phyllo hanging outside the shape. It will be folded with the next step.
  • Hold the triangle gently and fold up this time up, diagonally.
    Repeat the same sequence to fold the rest of the triangle.
    Place finished triangles on a parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
  • Brush a tiny amount of butter on top of each triangle to keep them moist while you are folding the rest.
  • Bake for 20 minutes at 350 F°, or until triangles have a light golden color.
  • Sprinkle powdered sugar all over triangles. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Phyllo pastry sheets come in a variety of thicknesses.  The thinnest ones are ideal for desserts such as these almond triangles and baklava. I get #4 like this one from Fresh Direct.
  • You can substitute the vanilla bean pod with one teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  • I prefer using fresh juice from a real lemon. Bottled lemon juice is pasteurized. The process involved quick heating and cooling which changes the flavor.
  • Substitute coarse semolina with regular semolina flour.
  • The perfect shape for these is an isosceles triangle, that is a triangle with all sides equal length. 
  • Check the post for step by step images on how to fold them into perfectly shaped isosceles triangles. 
 
 
Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only an estimate and can vary based on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 145kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 149IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg