Kalitsounia Me Kanella
Submitted by hoppershopper
Kalitsounia me kanella, sweet Greek cheese pastries filled with ricotta, cinnamon, and sugar, folded into half-moons and dusted with powdered sugar. Traditional Cretan Easter sweet with a tender pastry shell.
YIELD
20 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
25 minREADY
45 minKalitsounia are the little half-moon cheese pies that show up on Cretan Easter tables, equally at home as a dessert or a sweet breakfast. The name with “me kanella” flags the cinnamon version, where ricotta meets beaten egg yolks, sugar, and warm spice inside a tender pastry shell.
The filling needs to mound without slumping. Too wet and the pies leak in the oven; too dry and the texture turns grainy. A tablespoon of milk is the lever; add it only if the mix stiffens up too much.
Roll the dough paper-thin, as thin as a dime the recipe says. That thinness is what lets the pastry puff and brown in just 25 minutes while the filling warms through without drying.
Seal the edges well. Wet the rim with water or milk, press the fork tines firmly, and you won’t find half your cheese filling bubbling out onto the baking sheet.
Finish with confectioners’ sugar and a shower of cinnamon while still warm. The sugar clings better to warm pastry and gives them that classic snowy Greek pastry look.
Kitchen Tips
- Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mix looks like coarse breadcrumbs. That’s what gives the dough its flaky character.
- Drain ricotta in cheesecloth for an hour if it looks wet. Extra liquid wrecks the filling texture.
- Roll in batches and keep unused dough covered. Dry dough cracks when you try to fold it.
- Bake on buttered sheets, not parchment. The buttered surface helps the bottoms color evenly.
Variations
- Substitute mizithra or farmer cheese for a more authentic Cretan flavor.
- Add a pinch of ground cloves or nutmeg alongside the cinnamon for a more complex spice profile.
- Dip the cooled edges in melted honey for a traditional sweet finish instead of powdered sugar.
Ingredients
Directions
For the filling, combine the cheeses, lightly beaten egg yolks, sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl.
The mixture should be thick enough to mound, but not stiff; add 1 tablespoon milk, if necessary.
Set aside while you make the dough.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, then cut in the butter and mix by rubbing between your fingers.
Mix in the vanilla, egg whites, and enough milk to make a soft dough.
Knead until smooth and elastic, then break off small pieces and roll as thin of a dime.
Cut into circles 4-inches in diameter (teacup size), then on each circle place a teaspoon of the cheese filling.
Wet the circle edge with water or milk and fold over to form a half-moon, then seal with the tines of a fork or pastry wheel.
Arrange the Kaltisounia on buttered cookie sheets and bake in a moderate oven for 25 minutes, or until the pastry puffs up and turns a light chestnut color.
Remove from the oven, and place on racks, and dust with confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon.
Serve hot or cold.
Comments
Butter quantity is missing for dough.
2 tablespoons of butter is in the ingredients list, it doesn't look like missing, maybe you missed the butter when you went through the ingredients list, but still thanks for the comment and enjoy the recipe!
no because the 2 tb melted butter is used to make the filling, but then it says you cut in more butter later on when making the dough, but how much butter do you use then?
Thanks for your comment again, this time I definitely understood what you meant, and I am trying to look for similar or same recipes on the internet, so far the ones I found all have the same problem, I will keep searching for the completed one...