Baklava The most famous of all the Greek desserts! Layer upon layer of flaky fillo pastry, loaded with nuts, and bathed in a deliciously rich honey syrup. A must for the Christmas season! |
Ingredients:
For one 16" x 11"
pan:
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11/2 lbs. fillo dough (thaw frozen dough at room temperature for 5 hours or in refrigerator overnight)
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2 lbs. ground nuts
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2 tsp. cinnamon
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¼ tsp. ground cloves
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1/2 c. sugar
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1 lb. UNSALTED butter (2 cups or 4 cubes) No Substitutes!
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Syrup (3 cups honey and 1 cup water heated in microwave or on stove top)
For
one 13" x 9" pan:
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1 lb. fillo
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11/2 lb. ground nuts
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11/2 tsp. cinnamon
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1/8 tsp. ground cloves
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1/3 c. sugar
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¾ lb. UNSALTED butter (11/2 c. or 3 cubes) No Substitutes!
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Syrup (2 cups honey and 2/3 cup water heated in microwave or on stove top)
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Follow directions above except cut whole stack of fillo dough in half to fit pan. Cut to make two
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9” x 61/2” (approximate) stacks of dough.
Directions:
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In bowl, combine ground nuts, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar.
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Melt UNSALTED butter in microwave or on stove top.
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Unwrap fillo dough, and cut to pan size.
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Divide dough into approximately three equal portions
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Brush each layer of fillo dough with melted butter.
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Use approximately 1/3 of fillo for top layer.
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Use approximately 1/3 of fillo for middle layer. Layer the nuts, alternating with 3 - 4 filo until all nuts are used.
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Use approximately 1/3 of fillo for bottom layer.
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Cut and bake at 350 degrees until toasty looking, about 45 minutes to one hour.
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Let Baklava cool 1/2 hour before pouring over 3 – 4 cups lukewarm syrup.
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Let stand overnight to soak up syrup.
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After completely cooled, Baklava may be covered with plastic wrap to keep from drying out.
