Filo Onion Rolls

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

•8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
•2 cups grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
•2 onions, chopped
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1/4 cup butter
•1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
•1/8 tsp. pepper
•18 (9" x 14") sheets filo dough, thawed
•More melted butter (I use about 1/3 cup)


Directions:

In medium bowl, mix cream cheese and Gruyere. Set aside. In heavy skillet, sauté onions in 1/4 cup butter until very soft and beginning to brown, 10-15 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook another 1 minute. Cool 20 minutes. Mix together onion mixture and cheese mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place one sheet filo dough on work surface. Brush with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top, brush with butter, and put one more sheet on top.

Take the onion mixture, divide it into six parts, and form a roll about 1 inch in diameter down one short edge of the stacked filo. Roll up carefully and place on cookie sheet. Brush thoroughly with more butter. Repeat with remaining filo and filling, making six rolls total. I place three rolls on each cookie sheet. Cover well with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and remove the rolls from the refrigerator. Bake for 10-17 minutes or until rolls begin to brown and cheese filling melts. Let stand 5 minutes, then, using a very sharp knife, cut rolls into 1" pieces. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve. The onion filling right out of the oven is super-hot. Serves 8-10. (Mine got too flat when they cooked as a roll and were cut after. I think in the past I have cut the rolls and then stood them up to bake, they held a rounder shape that way.)

You can also freeze these rolls. Wrap well in freezer wrap, label, and freeze up to 3 months. To bake frozen rolls, place rolls on cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees F for 15-23 minutes or until the rolls are beginning to brown and crisp and cheese melts. Proceed as directed above.