Baklava
4 cups whole almonds, toasted and chopped
4 cups pecans, toasted and chopped
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 pound phyllo dough, thawed
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups honey
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
Orange peel from 1/2 orange
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Toast nuts for 10-15 minutes, allow to cool.
In a food processor, combine 2 cups of almonds and 2 cups of pecans, along with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon - pulse until finely chopped, but not a paste. Pour into a large bowl, along with 2/3 cup of sugar.
Next, combine the remaining nuts and cinnamon in the food processor, and pulse until just coarsely chopped. Add to finely ground nuts, and mix well.
Using a 13x9 pan, place one sheet of phyllo in pan, brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have a total of 6 sheets of phyllo.
Spoon in 3 cups of the nut mixture.
Place a sheet of phyllo on top of the nuts, brush with melted butter, and repeat until you have 4 sheets of phyllo.
Spoon in 3 cups of the nut mixture.
Place a sheet of phyllo on top of the nuts, brush with melted butter, and repeat until you 4 sheets of phyllo.
Spoon in remaining nuts, and repeat process with phyllo, using the remaining sheets.
Using a sharp knife, slice into diamonds and allow to rest while you make the syrup.Combine honey, sugar, orange juice, water, cinnamon stick and orange peel in large saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Keep a close watch on the syrup, as it will boil over.
Stirring occasionally, continue to boil for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and discard the orange peel and cinnamon stick; set syrup aside.
Once syrup is cooling, place baklava in the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove baklava from oven, and immediately pour cooled syrup over hot baklava.
Leave baklava on cooling rack until completely cooled.
Cover well and store at room temperature.
A resting period of 24 hours is best, but if you can't wait that long, the minimum time would be 8 hours.
Store at room temperature.
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YUM! So authentic and delicious looking!
ReplyDeleteYour baklava looks perfect, Louanne! Gooey, nutty, and full of cinnamon...sigh...I wish I had some right now! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I so wish I could still eat it...
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Thank you, Faith! I need to create a gluten-free version...
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I've never had baklava before. You have me convinced that I need to try some!! Looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteHoly moly, this looks great! I love Baklava, but I've never made it myself. I think I'm going to have to give it a try!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ashley! It's not hard, just a time-consuming, but so worth it! x Louanne
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Thanks, BreAna! It's so delicious!
ReplyDeletex Louanne
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Your baklava looks gorgeous. Baklava is delicious and I am sure yours is at the top of the list when it comes to good taste.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a moment, would you link this to Bake with Bizzy?
Thank you, Chaya! I meant to link to Bake with Bizzy, going to do so now.
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I love baklava! It's one of my favorite desserts ever. I'll need to give this a try. Thanks for sharing with Crazy Sweet Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dorothy!
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to make this, I just am not brave enough, you make it look easy:)
ReplyDeleteIt does seem a little intimidating, doesn't it? I think it's all of the steps - it's one of those desserts that you make when you're alone or someone is around to watch the children and answer the phone Thanks for visiting my kitchen! x Louanne
ReplyDeleteOh, Baklava! How gorgeous and wonderfully sticky-looking :) I've never attempted to make my own, but since my brother is a huge fan, it's a fixture of our family holiday celebrations. Maybe we'll have to scratch-bake some this year!
ReplyDeleteReally does look amazing...I'd love to give this a whirl :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel! Baklava was always one of my favorite things, too. I think it is probably what I miss the most since eating gluten-free. Y'all should make it together as a family - it's a fun activity. Thanks for my visiting!
ReplyDeleteIsn't baklava so pretty! Thanks so much for sharing at Taking A Timeout Thursday. I can't wait to see what you share this week.
ReplyDelete--Trish @ Mom On Timeout
http://www.MomOnTimeout.com
Thanks, Trish! I'm going to link my coconut macaroons.
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It must be so hard to make this and not be able to eat it! I love Baklava too, and yours looks wonderful! Thank you for sharing your recipe with the Gallery of Favorites.
ReplyDeleteHello there! I just found you by clicking on Blog hop! I leave in Greece and this is one of my favorite traditional sweets ! Here is the recipe I do and you might like to try...
ReplyDeleteIngredients (for pan width 37cm x depth 31cm x height 5cm / 42 5x5 pieces)
1 pound phyllo pastry
400 g butter
750 g blanched and dried almonds 150 g blanched peanuts Pistachio (in shell) for
syrup: 650g sugar, 400g water, 80g glucose
Μήπως εννοείτε: 80 γραμμάρια γλυκόζη
Boil sugar, water and glucose for 3 minutes (3 minutes after boiling point). Great blog my friend!