Baklava…. A Christmas favorite at our house. No I am not Greek, funny story actually. During my internship we had a culture foods day and I was selected to report on Greece. Growing up one of my best friends came from Greek heritage and this was one of my favorite pastries her family made. So when I was selecting what food I wanted to present to the class, I decided to go with one of my favorite childhood pastries. Since my internship was a non-paid program. My husband and I had little to spend at Christmas for our families, so we decided we would make baklava and place the pastries in decorative boxes for Christmas gifts.  And this is how the tradition of making baklava started at our house. Now every year our families look forward to the baklava treat in our Christmas tin cans. We have been making this recipe and perfecting it for 6 years now and I would like to share the secrets of this divine treat with all of you. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have.

Baklava

Ingredients

• 4 cups finely chopped walnuts or your favorite nut (we used walnuts in the pictures below)
•  1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground Vietnamese cinnamon
•  1 cup butter, melted
• 1 package (16 ounces) frozen phyllo dough, thawed

SYRUP:

•  1 cup sugar
•  1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup honey
•  1 teaspoon lemon juice
•  1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract

 

 

 

Directions

• In the food processor place the whole walnuts, sugar and cinnamon and pulse until finely chopped.

• Spray a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish with some of the melted butter (the best secret is use a washed “I cannot believe it’s not butter” bottle or misto). Melt the butter in a microwave dish and syphon the melted butter into the sprayer (refer to the picture). Unroll phyllo dough sheets (keep dough covered with plastic wrap while assembling).

•  Place one sheet of phyllo in baking dish; spray with butter. Top with a second sheet; spray with butter. Fold long ends under to fit the dish.

• Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup nut mixture. Repeat 18 times, layering two sheets, spraying with butter and sprinkling with nut mixture. Top with remaining dough; spray with butter.

 

 

• Cut into 2-in. diamonds with a sharp knife (before placing it in the oven)

 

• Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown.

• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

• Pour honey sauce over the warm baklava. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 3 dozens

 

Please note my husband and I now make the equivalent to eight 9 by 13 trays a year so we switched to using half sheet pans (pictures above are using the half sheet pans and doubling the above recipe). This recipe process can go a lot smoother if you have a helper in the kitchen. I am very lucky to have a husband who is such a wonderful assistant in the kitchen.