Old Fashioned Baklava is sure to impress with its luscious flaky honey-soaked layers! Its the perfect dessert for the Holidays! Its Crispy, sweet and is sure to become a favorite dessert!
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.
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.
Grease 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!