Baklawa Recipe

🧂 Ingredients

• 16 oz phyllo dough

  thawed by package instructions
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter

  10 oz or 2 1/2 sticks, melted
• 1 lb walnuts

  finely chopped, (about 4 cups)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

  juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup honey
• Melted chocolate chips & chopped walnuts for garnish

  optional

Instructions

• 1 Thaw phyllo dough by package instructions (this is best done overnight in the
  fridge, then place it on the counter for 1 hr before starting your recipe to
  bring it to room temp).
• 2 Trim phyllo dough to fit your baking dish. My phyllo package had 2 rolls with a
  total of 40 sheets that measured 9x14 so I had to trim them slightly. You can
  trim one stack at a time then cover with a damp towel to keep from drying out.
• 3 Butter the bottom and sides of a 13x9 non-stick baking pan.
• 4 Start with your honey sauce (which needs time to cool as baklawa bakes).
• 5 In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 2 Tbsp lemon juice,
  and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil over med/high heat, stirring until sugar is
  dissolved, then reduce heat to med/low and boil additional 4 min without
  stirring. Remove from heat and let syrup cool while preparing baklawa.
• 6 How to make Baklawa: Preheat Oven to 325˚F.
• 7 Pulse walnuts 10 times in a food process or until coarsely ground/ finely
  chopped. In a medium bowl, stir together: 4 cups finely chopped walnuts and 1
  tsp cinnamon.
• 8 Place 10 phyllo sheets into baking pan one at a time, brushing each sheet with
  butter once it's in the pan before adding the next (i.e. place phyllo sheet into
  pan, brush the top with butter, place next phyllo sheet in pan, butter the top,
  etc. etc.). Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel at all times. Spread
  about 1/5 of nut mixture (about 3/4 cup) over phyllo dough.
• 9 Add 5 buttered sheets of phyllo, then another layer of nuts. Repeat x 4. Finish
  off with 10 layers of buttered phyllo sheets. Brush the very top with butter.
• 10 Cut pastry into 1 1/2" wide strips, then cut diagonally to form diamond shapes.
  Bake at 325˚F for 1 hour and 15 min or until tops are golden brown.
• 11 Remove from oven and immediately spoon cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklawa
  (you'll hear it sizzle). This will ensure that it stays crisp rather than soggy.
  Let baklawa cool completely, uncovered and at room temp. For best results, let
  baklava sit 4-6 hours or overnight at room temperature for the syrup to
  penetrate and soften the layers. Garnish baklawa with finely chopped nuts or
  drizzle with melted chocolate. Store at room temp, covered with a tea towel for
  1 to 2 weeks.

Nutrition Info