Baklava is yummy… but it's yummiest when it's homemade. And it doesn’t have to be my home that makes it. It can be anyone's home. I just think homemade baklava tends to have a little more flavor… a little more freshness… a little more somethin' somethin’ than a lot of the baklava you buy.
Not that I buy a lot of baklava in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. But still.
Baklava makes a greatChristmas food gift: Give a whole pan to someone you love or split it up into portions and gift them in little boxes or bags. Your recipients will love you even more than they already do. Whether or not this is a desired outcome is something only you can decide. Just know it will happen.
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- Yields:
- 16 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 20 mins
- Cook Time:
- 45 mins
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 5 mins
Ingredients
- 1
package phyllo dough
- 4 c.
chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 tsp.
cinnamon
- 1 1/2
sticks butter
- 2 c.
honey
- 1/2 c.
water
- 1/2 c.
sugar
- 3 tsp.
vanilla extract
Directions
- Step1Remove phyllo dough package from freezer and place in the fridge for 24 hours to thaw. Remove from fridge 1 hour before using.
- Step2When working with the phyllo dough, only remove the sheets you immediately need, keeping the other sheets covered in plastic wrap, then a damp cloth.
- Step3Toss together the chopped walnuts and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Step4Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt 1/2 stick of the butter in a small saucepan andbutter a rectangular baking pan. Make sure the sheets of phyllo will generally fit the pan (if they're a little bigger, that's okay.) If they're much bigger, just trim them with a sharp knife.
- Step5Butter the top sheet of phyllo with melted butter, then grab it and the unbuttered sheet below it. Set the 2 sheets in the pan, buttered sheet face down. Press lightly into the pan. Repeat this twice more, so that you have 6 sheets of phyllo in the pan, three of the sheets buttered.
- Step6Sprinkle on enough walnuts to make a single layer. Butter 2 sheets of phyllo and place them on top of the walnuts. Add more walnuts, then 2 more buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat this a couple more times, or until you're out of walnuts. Top with 4 more buttered phyllo sheets, ending with a buttered top. Cut a diagonal diamond pattern in the baklava using a very sharp knife.
- Step7Bake for 45 minutes, or until the baklava is very golden brown.
- Step8While the baklava is baking, combine the remaining1 stick of butter, honey, water, sugar, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
- Step9When you remove the baklava from the oven, drizzle half the saucepan evenly all over the top. Allow it to sit and absorb for a minute, then drizzle on a little more until you think it's thoroughly moistened. You'll likely have some of the honey mixture leftover, which you can drink with a straw. Just kidding.
- Step10Allow the baklava to cool, uncovered, for several hours. Once cool and sticky and divine, carefully remove them from the pan and serve with coffee (or give as gifts!)
Here’s how you make it:
First: Imagine a photo of a package of phyllo dough. Thank you for your cooperation.
Now, about the phyllo dough: It’s sold in frozen packages, so you need to remove the package from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge 24 hours before you want to make the baklava. Then, about an hour beforehand, remove the package from the fridge and let it sit on the counter.
When you’re ready to make the baklava, throw chopped pecans or walnuts into a bowl or onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle on a teaspoon of cinnamon and toss them around to combine. Set these aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F, then butter a rectangular baking pan.
Then melt plenty of butter ’cause you’re gonna need it.
Unwrap the phyllo and lay the sheets flat. Size up how they compare to the size of the baking pan, and use a sharp knife to trim them if necessary in order for them to fit. Then set 2/3 of the package over to the side and cover it with a piece of plastic wrap, then a slightly damp towel on top of the plastic wrap. (The phyllo dries out very, very quickly, so work fast! Only retrieve a few sheets at a time as you need them.)
Brush the entire surface of the top sheet of phyllo with melted butter.
Then grab that sheet and the sheet underneath it (total: two sheets!) and place them in the bottom of the baking pan, butter side down, pressing lightly to fit into the pan.
Repeat this with two more sheets…then two MORE sheets. So now, you now six sheets of phyllo dough, three of them buttered, in the bottom of the pan.
Brush the top sheet with butter, then arrange the nuts in a single layer.
Next, repeat the butter-then-lay-on-two-sheets-of-phyllo step, butter side face down.
So the layers so far, starting at the bottom:
Buttered sheet of phyllo face down
Another sheet on top of that
Buttered sheet of phyllo face down
Another sheet on top of that
Butter the top
Layer of nuts
Buttered sheet of phyllo face down
Another sheet on top of that
Geez. And here’s a note: If it’s easier to remember, you can just butter every single layer of phyllo before laying it on the next piece. I do every other sheet like this because I’m not sure buttering every sheet is absolutely necessary, and the syrup at the end makes everything nice and moist.
After that, repeat with another two or three layers of nuts, topping each layer of nuts with two sheets of phyllo.
End with a total of four to six sheets of phyllo, buttering the top layer (which I forgot to do before cutting, so I had to do it after.) Then, with a very sharp knife, make a cut from one corner to the next.
Then continue making a diagonal criss-cross pattern with the knife until you have a bunch of diamond-shaped pieces. (This is much easier if you butter the top sheet first! Don’t be like me.)
Place the pan in the oven for 45 minutes or so, until it’s nice and golden brown and crisp and beautiful.
While the baklava is baking, add some butter to a saucepan with plenty of honey.
Add some sugar…
A good amount of vanilla…and a little water. Bring this to boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer and thicken while the baklava continues to bake. Remove it from the heat and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Then, this is important: Please be like me and remove the baklava from the oven and immediately drizzle the honey mixture over the top, starting with about half the mixture and working your way up until you think the baklava has enough stickiness and moisture. But by all means, completely forget to photograph this process! But only if you want to be like me.
(Sorry.)
The most important thing, though, is to let the baklava sit, uncovered, on the counter for several hours before you dig in.
It needs to do that for the stickiness to really set in and for the flavors to meld and merge and for the whole thing to hold together.
Baklava
You’ll love it with your coffee.
You’ll love it with your Sprite.
You’ll love it in the morning.
You’ll love it in the night.
Try baklava soon! It’s fun to make, and you can alter the filling ingredients in so many interesting (if unconventional) ways: mini chocolate chips, raisins, different nuts…you can even add flavored syrups to the honey mixture. Such a treat!
