Baklava

Ingredients

Pastry

• 1/2 lb unsalted butter, melted
• 1 lb phyllo dough, thawed
• 12 oz almonds, finely chopped
• 8 oz walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1t ground cinnamon
• 1/2t ground cloves

Syrup

• 1 1/2 cups honey
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1t orange zest, finely chopped
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1/2t ground cinnamon

Preparation

• Combine all syrup ingredients in sauce pan, bring to full boil, set aside to cool.
• Combine nuts, sugar, and cinnamon from pastry recipe, mix well.
• Preheat oven to 300F.
• Brush melted butter on bottom and sides of desired baking dish, dough may be cut to fit pan and some over lapping is fine.
• Begin layering sheets of dough in pan one at a time, buttering between each sheet.
• Continue until dough is four sheets thick.
• Sprinkle enough of nut mixture over top layer of dough to lightly cover.
• Return to layering the dough with butter as before, four sheets thick, then nut mixture again.
• Continue this process until dough and nut mixture are used up, or pan is full.
• The top should be at least 4 sheets of dough, buttered generously, no nuts on top or they will burn.
• Cook in 300F oven until golden brown, about one hour.
• Remove from oven, pour cooled syrup over pastry a little at a time.
• Allow to soak for a minimum of 4 hours or over night.
• Cut into desired shape and serve.

Comments

• This is one of my all time favorite sweets. My first experience with baklava was while traveling in Greece with my now wife. We must have eaten our weight in it over a couple of weeks. While not quite the same as going to Greece, this recipe is quite good and does the trick for a food that holds so many wonderful memories for me.
• Phyllo dough is tricky to work with as it is so thin, but try to work quickly as it will dry out and become brittle in no time.
• Refrigeration is not necessary, though freezing is ok, but allow to return to room temperature before serving.
• While there are many types of baklava, this is a basic one. Once you master this one, there are other good ones that use chocolate too! Yummy!
• Usually a slice of orange and a little mint are nice garnishes.
• The size pan can vary depending on how thick you like your baklava, but something around 9X13 works well.
• You only "need" a small piece, so this should serve at least 12-15, or more if cut into bite size pieces.

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