Baklava

I love good baklava! It is not as hard as it looks, but it is not inexpensive!  I make mine with 4 different nuts and an amazing amount of butter. It is soooo good!

Baklava!

1 pound frozen fillo (phylo) dough, thawed

1 cup walnuts, rough chopped

1 cup slivered almonds, chopped

1cup pecans, chopped

1 1/2 cups pistachios, chopped

1 cup butter, melted (more may be needed)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Lemon Honey Syrup

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 lemon, sliced seeds removed

4 tablespoons honey

Thaw dough at room temperature for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350

Place chopped nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor and pulse  four or five times till they are all mixed and chopped a little finer. 

Brush melted butter on the bottom of a 15x10x2 inch pan (jelly roll). Gently lay one layer of fillo dough onto the prepared pan. Butter the dough. Add another single layer of dough, brush with butter. Keep doing this till you get 10 layers of dough.

Put about 2/3 of the nut mixture on the top of the 10 layers.  Drizzle with butter.

Put a single layer of fillo dough on top of nuts. Brush the dough with butter. Add single layers of dough brushed with butter till you get about 5 more layers. Add the rest of the nuts, drizzle with more butter.  Add the rest of the fillo dough in single layers, each brushed with butter till you have used the entire package.

Cut, WITHOUT CUTTING THOUGH THE BOTTOM LAYER, into diamond shapes

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Finish cutting the diamonds. Cool completely.

Pour the warm honey syrup over the top. It will all soak in. Might not look like it, but it till

HONEY SYRUP

In a saucepan, combine sugar, water and lemon slices. Boil gently for 15 minutes. Remove lemon slices. Add honey. Stir till combined. Pour gently over baklava.