Baklava

Greek Dessert

Ingredients

  • 3/4 C Sugar or honey
  • 1 C Water
  • 1/2 Lemon
  • 1 Orange slice (1/4" inch thick, with peel)
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 1 lb. Package of phyllo dough
  • 1-3/4 C Finely chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, or combination)
  • 2-1/2 T Sugar
  • 1-1/4 t Ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 t Ground cloves
  • 1 Pound Unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

For the Syrup:
Combine 3/4 cup sugar (or honey), water, lemon half and orange slice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Mixture should coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, take out the cinnamon stick, lemon and orange slice, and allow syrup to cool. Refrigerate.

For the Filling:
Combine nuts, 2-1/2 tablespoons sugar, ground cinnamon and cloves.

Assembly:
Butter a large (at least 11"x17") baking sheet that has a 1-inch lip on it. Depending upon the number of sheets in your package of phyllo dough (usually 20 to 24), use half of them for the bottom layer. Put down one sheet at a time, working quickly, and brush a thin layer of melted butter on each sheet. Evenly spread the filling over the dough, and top with the remaining sheets of phyllo dough, again brushing melted butter between each sheet.

With a sharp knife (an electric knife works well if you have a steady hand), cut the filled phyllo dough into diamond shapes, making cuts about 1-1/2" apart. Cut down to but not all the way through the bottom layer of phyllo dough.

Bake in preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes; then raise oven temperature to 475F and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until baklava is golden brown. Remove from oven, and pour cooled syrup evenly over the top of the phyllo. Recut baklava, this time cutting all the way through the bottom layer.


Makes about 8 dozen. Notes 1) The nuts should be in very small pieces - a hand-grinder works best. A food processor may be used but don't let them get ground to powder. 2) Hnadling the sheets of filo requires a gentle touch. Don't worry about tears in the sheets, just place them and butter them and they will work fine. Keep remaining filo covered with the damp towel all the time - if the sheets dry out they become very brittle. If the sheets stick together too much the roll has becore too wet, so leave the towel off until they separate more easily.

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Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: Internet/Grandma's Cookbook
Submitted By: Marlen
matchlessm@aol.com
Baklava