Baklava

Baklava!

That one word can make mouths water in my family.

Today I'm going to tell you about my baklava.

I'm not Greek or anything close to it.

I'm 1/2 Swedish and 1/2 a variety of other nationalities.

So I don't know where I got the knack for making baklava,

but I have it.
It really isn't a difficult thing to make, just a little

tedious and time consuming.

I posted this picture on facebook one day and asked if 

anyone had a guess as to what I would be making.

My family knew right away.

I don't make it often, and I haven't made it at 

Christmas time for years.

I thought it was about time I made it again.

Here's the recipe I follow.

1 pkg phyllo dough 

(sometimes it's spelled Fillo, found in the freezer section)

1 1/2 cups butter

1 pound nuts (chopped walnuts and slivered almonds)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Syrup: 1 cup honey

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

In a bowl mix the nuts, sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Melt the entire 1 1/2 cup butter.

In a large baking pan 

(mine is 12 x 17, a lasagna pan will work.)

layer the sheets of phyllo. 

Lay down one sheet of phyllo covering the bottom of the pan,

(You will probably have to piece it together to cover the entire bottom)

brush it with melted butter.

Lay down another sheet of phyllo,

brush it with butter.

Continue this until about 1/3 of the phyllo is used.

It is very important to lay down single sheets of the phyllo

and brush each one with butter.  This is the tedious part,

the phyllo is like tissue paper, don't worry if it is put down in 

pieces, in the end no one will know the difference.

Once you have 1/3 of the phyllo down,

cover it with 1/2 of the nut mixture.

Then repeat the phyllo process with 1/3 more of the phyllo.

cover it with the other 1/2 of the nut mixture.

Using the last 1/3 of the phyllo, repeat the process of 

phyllo and butter until all the phyllo is used.

Brush the top generously with butter.

I know this is going to sound odd, but now is the time to 

cut the baklava, yes, before you bake it.

Using a very sharp knife, cut the baklava into pieces.

Traditionally, they are cut into triangles.

I cut lengthwise into strips about 2 - 2 1/2" wide,

cut the same sized strips on the width.

Now you have squares, each square is now cut diagonally,

to create the triangular pieces.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes,

turn the temp down to 300 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.

While it is baking,

combine the ingredients for the syrup in a sauce pan.

Heat until it is just starting to boil and turn down,

let simmer while the baklava bakes.

Stir often.

When the baking is finished remove the baklava from 

the oven and immediately pour the hot syrup over the hot baklava.

Let sit until cooled.

Enjoy!

Here is some of my finished baklava.

I have it in cupcake papers here, I then wrapped them 

with plastic wrap.

The ones that will be going to a party tomorrow

I didn't wrap individually with plastic wrap,

I just placed them on a plate to go.

I don't always use the cupcake papers,

but they are easier to eat this way when they are 

used on a buffet table.
If cupcake papers aren't used,

I wrap them individually in plastic wrap.

It just makes it easier to store until they are

taken to a party, given as gifts or eaten.

With this pan I got about 70 pieces.

Thanks for stopping by today.

I hope you like my recipe for Baklava,

I know my family loves it.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.  

My e-mail address is in the right side bar of

the blog.

Hope I'll see you again soon,

you never know what you'll find on 

Kristie Kreates.