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Baklava

SUBMITTED BY: NEONWILLIE PHOTO BY: christapants

"A Greek favorite that makes everyone think you are a master chef and is sooo easy to make!! I taught a Greek friend how to make apple pie and she taught me this fabulous recipe. The phyllo dough for this recipe is found in the freezer section of most grocery stores. Add a little lemon zest to the sugar sauce, if desired."

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Original recipe yield 3 dozen

SERVINGS

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Servings
USMETRIC

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped nuts
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

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REVIEWS

Reviewed on Nov. 9, 2007 by sandra lee

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The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.

sandra lee
Nov. 9, 2007

I have made Baklava for about 30 years now, ever since my greek stepmother made it during my teenage years. At first it took me about an hour to assemble, but now only about 15 minutes. Here are the shortcuts to save time. I do let the phyllo dough thaw, but do not cut the dough and do not cover it while layering. I just drape the bottom half over the pan and then fold the top half over it, "painting" a thin layer of butter quickly. I use a new and clean basting paint brush, to spread a very thin layer of butter between each phyllo sheet. It is only necessary to lightly brush on the butter, not saturate. The more wrinkles the sheet has in it, the better. You just keep putting and folding the edges and that ends up making the baklava more layered and crispy. If it turns out soggy, it's from too much butter, not the sauce. Also, when you 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 sauce into the cooled Baklava, the sauce seeps into every layer of the Baklava, but doesn't sit at the bottom. Then, cut all the way thru after the whole thing has completely cooled.

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62 users found this review helpful

I have made Baklava for about 30 years now, ever since my greek stepmother made it during my... MORE

Reviewed on Dec. 20, 2005 by BLUEYS1299

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BLUEYS1299
Dec. 20, 2005

This is the second time I have tried this recipe and it just keeps getting easier. A few tricks I learned this time: Make the sauce first, before you start to do anything else with the baklava. Let it cook while you are preparing and putting everything together, and let it cool while the baklava is cooking. I got the sauce started, and then chopped and prepared the nuts (I used a variety of nuts; almonds, walnuts and pecans), and rolled out my dough. I lay out my phyllo dough before I start layering and cut it to the shape of the pan I am making it in. This made the layering SO much easier. I put a piece of plastic wrap over the phyllo dough and then the damp towel. This helps keep the dough from sticking to the towel. I made an extra 1/2 of the sauce recipe and it seems like the perfect amount (I doubled it last time and it seemed like too much). I also used about 2 sticks of butter instead of 1. It took me about an hour total to prepare and assemble. CUT the baklava after assembly and before cooking, and top with butter to make everything smooth and “pretty”. Put the cooled sauce on as soon as you pull the baklava out of the oven. I let it adsorb overnight. Easy and wonderful!! It tastes like the baklava I buy in the Greek stores downtown and a LOT cheaper per piece. I think this cost me around $15 to make and I yeilded 3 dozen pieces(it would be less if I did not use almonds and pecans). I will be making this for years to come!

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37 users found this review helpful

This is the second time I have tried this recipe and it just keeps getting easier. A few... MORE

Reviewed on Nov. 11, 2007 by CA2

It's nice recipe but baklava is a Turkish dessert not Greek.They learned it from Turks in... MORE

Reviewed on Aug. 1, 2007 by Elena

I have been using this recipe from allrecipes.com for years, and I just realized I never... MORE

Reviewed on Nov. 6, 2003 by TRACY ANN H

This is an excellent recipe, time consuming but not difficult. I went with several reviews... MORE

Reviewed on Feb. 23, 2006 by angela

I have another tip to use for this recipe. I really wanted to use real butter, and I had so... MORE

Reviewed on Sep. 11, 2003 by BANSREEPARIKH

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BANSREEPARIKH
Sep. 11, 2003

This is a great recipe for Baklava! You have to make it. I had phyllo dough that had been in the freezer for a while and was starting to dry out, so I decided to make this recipe. Even though it was quite difficult to work with dried out dough, the end result was fabulous. Flaky & crispy on top with yummy sweet layers in the middle. I added a bit of sugar to the nut mixture (1/4 cup max) and the sugar caramelized nicely in the oven. I also added a touch of nutmeg and ground cardamom to the nut mixture (not too much, because it's really strong and you don't want it to overpower the cinnamon flavor). I also added a bit of orange zest to the syrup along with the vanilla, and it was delicious. It wasn't as sweet as store bought baklava and that made it so much better. Before putting it in the oven, I cut the baklava with a pizza cutter and that really worked well. I served it in multicolored cupcake wrappers. Yummy, yummy. One thing I noticed was that it was a bit dry for my taste. Next time, I think I'll increase the sugar/honey syrup by 1/3 to 1/2 than the recipe calls for. I had originally made this recipe to share with my extended family, but now I'm thinking of making something else to take to that party and keeping the baklava at home for us. Soooooo good! Try it, you won't regret it!

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20 users found this review helpful

This is a great recipe for Baklava! You have to make it. I had phyllo dough that had been in... MORE

Reviewed on Aug. 12, 2005 by Sara Bear

I have made this recipe numerous times and it is always a huge hit. In fact it just won best... MORE

Reviewed on Mar. 18, 2004 by TAKYSIE

A good recipe, but here are a couple of hints: Melt the butter and use a pastry brush. Cut... MORE

Reviewed on Feb. 18, 2008 by Kristyna

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Baklava

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INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

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