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Baklava is insanely delicious with layers of flaky sweetness and crunchy nuts, then drizzled with Honey! Its a tried and true Greek favorite that makes everyone think you are a master chef ! This is a fabulous recipe. The phyllo/filo dough for this recipe can be easily found in the freezer section of almost any supermarket.
Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with pure honey. It is very popular in Greek culture!
Baklava is usually prepared in a large baking pan with numerous layers of filo dough, separated with melted butter, then layers of chopped nuts, typically walnuts or pistachios, but almonds could also be used.
My husbands family is all from Greece, so this is a staple at any holiday gathering or even for an amazing dessert that everyone loves!
You will never buy store bought again if you’re a Baklava fan like I am- with a greek husband you learn to make it 😉
I always make it the night before I want to serve it- you don’t have to but for the best results , its recommended! At the very least, allow it to sit around 8-12 hours at room temperature so that the honey can really have the opportunity to soften the layers.
I usually make two when I make Baklava, I leave on with just the honey and another pan drizzled with melted chocolate and nuts. I use a basting brush to spread a very thin layer of butter between each phyllo/ filo sheet.
You only want to lightly brush on the butter, not saturate it. The more wrinkles the sheet has in it, the better. If it turns out soggy, it’s from too much butter, I promise! You want to always cut the Baklava before you bake it, use a sharp knife and cut to within a half inch FROM the bottom of the pan, so then when you pour the honey on top of the cooled Baklava it seeps into every layer and makes it pure perfection!
One of the awesome things about this dessert is how long it keeps- not refrigerated! Don’t refrigerate it because you want to keep its softness and only room temperature can do that.
It keeps for up to two weeks covered well, at room temp.
This is the ultimate best Baklava I’ve ever had! I make it for the holidays every year, christmas, thanksgiving and new years! It goes fast around this house! people request me to make it. LOL!
It’s definitely not the easiest dish to throw together , but WOW is it worth it.
Old Fashioned Baklava
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz. package filo pastry dough, thawed
- 13 tbsp. melted unsalted butter divided
- 4 cups walnuts chopped finely
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup pure honey
Instructions
Trim filo pastry dough to 13 x 9 inches and cover with a damp towel.
See AlsoEasy Glazed Carrots RecipeGrease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with 1 tbsp. melted butter and set aside.
Combine sugar, lemon juice, water, and honey in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer another 4 minutes without stirring.
Remove pan from heat and let cool.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a food processor, pulse walnuts until chopped finely.
Combine chopped walnuts and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir.
Lay 10 filo sheets one at a time into the prepared baking dish, brushing each sheet with melted butter in between layers. Spread 3/4 cup of the walnut mixture onto the filo dough in an even layer.
Lay another 5 sheets of filo dough over top of the walnut mixture, brushing with butter between layers, and top with another 3/4 cup of the walnut mixture.
Repeat until walnut mixture is used up and top with 10 sheets of buttered filo dough.
Brush the top layer with butter. Slice pastry into 1 1/2 inch strips and slice diagonally in both directions to create diamonds.
Bake uncovered for 85 minutes (1 hour 25 minutes) until pastry is golden in color.
Immediately after removing from the oven, drizzle with cooled honey syrup over the pastry in an even layer.
Let cool completely and serve.
ENJOY!
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