Baklava!

Baklava,  Turkish in origin and absolutely delicious! I usually make this in the winter but when cleaning out my freezer I found 2 essential ingredients for a batch. Since when did I buy a pound of phyllo (it must have been last winter…)? And since when do we have a spare pound of walnuts that are just waiting to be used?? Plus, I noticed I got a little over-zealous when buying honey last shopping trip. I had quite a stash of the golden goodness just yelling, “USE ME”! 😉  Seeing that everything was falling into alignment, I decided it was “meant to be” for me to make Baklava! 🙂
I made my first batch of baklava 8ish years ago after a local store that sold it closed. I still use the original recipe found here but the only thing is I am not afraid of butter and live by the motto, “everything better with butter!” 😉 So, I do use an addition stick of butter in my baklava. But I will post the original recipe. Just remember, you might need additional butter!
The hardest part of this recipe is waiting 24 hours for the Baklava to set without having some-one sneak a piece. But once it is finished, fix yourself a cup of Turkish Coffee, grab a piece of Baklava, and perhaps a scoop of ice cream on the side :), then enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 lb Walnuts – Finely Chopped
• 1/2 C. Sugar
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1.5 C. Butter (3 sticks), Melted
• 1 Package Frozen Phyllo Dough (16 oz) Thawed

• 1 C. Sugar
• 1 C. Water
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 C. Honey (Net weight 12 oz.)
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Combine and set aside walnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon
3. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom and sides of a 10×14″ (about 1-2″ deep) pan with melted butter.
4. Open the phyllo dough and layer 6 whole leafs (or 12 half leafs) in the pan, buttering each layer as you go. (The edges will extend over the side.)
5. Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture.
6. If your phyllo dough comes in full sheets, cut the remaining phyllo dough in half.
7. Layer 8 half sheets — butter each layer. Each sheet will be an inch or so short, so stagger the sheets from corner to corner to cover the whole pan. I use a pattern so I don’t forget how many layers I’ve put down, but it’s even easier if you have a friend help!
8. Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture.
9. Repeat 8 sheets and walnut mixture twice. You will end up with 4 layers of nuts.
10. Layer the remaining half sheets on top — butter each layer.
11. Brush the top with the remaining butter.
12. Trim the edges off.
13. Cut halfway through the layers using the (new and improved right-hand or left-handers) diagram to the right. See my baklava FAQ page for more tips on cutting. (Note: Do NOT cut from corner to corner.) This is done now since it will be very fragile after it’s been baked.
14. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown.
15. 15 minutes before the baklava should be done, mix 1 cup sugar, water, and lemon juice in a sauce pan.
16. Cook sauce over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
17. Remove from heat, add the honey and vanilla, and stir until well blended.
18. Remove the baklava from the oven and finish cutting through the layers.
19. Pour the sauce over the hot baklava.
20. Cool. Let it sit for at least 24 hours (lightly covered — but not in the refrigerator) — longer if you can stand it!
21. ENJOY!!