Baklava

You can find the original recipe here. As Natasha puts it: these things are a party in your mouth.

So, I am going to be honest with you, this will take A LONG TIME the first time you make this. The reason for that is because you are going to butter each layer of phyllo dough as you place them. You also have to keep the dough covered as you work with it because it dries out easily, and it breaks easily too. I have found this to be pretty easy to make now though, after 4 times, and can have one prepped in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 16 oz phyllo dough, thawed by package instructions
• 1¼ cups unsalted butter (to be honest, I eyeball this and always end up with more)
• 1 lb walnuts (I switch it up depending on what kind of nut I am feeling)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I also use pumpkin pie spice too)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice, juice of ½ lemon
• ¾ cup water
• ½ cup honey
• Melted chocolate chips and chopped walnuts for garnish, optional

Steps

Prep work

1. Thaw your phyllo dough according to package instructions. You may also need to trim the dough to the size of your dish. I choose not to because I like the smashed-up corner sides look.
2. Butter the bottom and sides of your baking pan. You have to start all that buttery goodness somewhere.

Begin your honey sauce

This needs time to cool, which is why you’re making it first. I think this helps keep your baklava crispy instead of soggy at the end. I’m not sure why, but Natasha says so, so we do what she says (unless we change part of the recipe to our liking, whoopsie).

1. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, ½ cup honey, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, and ¾ cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat to medium-low and boil an additional 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and let syrup cool while preparing the baklava.

Time for the fun part: the baklava

1. In a food processor, pulse the nut of your choosing to the size you like. It’s all a personal preference, no judgment. I’ve had these with walnuts and pecans, both delicious.
2. In a bowl, combine your nuts and 1 tsp cinnamon. I honestly eyeball this according to how spicy I am feeling. I also add in pumpkin pie spice too, because I stan PSLs.
3. Place down two damp towels to keep the dough in between. Remember, the dough is easy to break and brittle. Begin placing one sheet of dough at a time in your baking dish, until you get to 10 sheets placed down, buttering each piece of dough in the process. The process is: place sheet, cover dough back up, butter placed sheet, get another piece of dough, repeat.
4. Once you have 10 buttered sheets down, place about ⅕ of the nut mixture down on the dough.
5. Repeat the butter-sheet process, but counting up to 5 sheets this time. Then place another layer of nuts. Repeat the entire process 4 times.
6. This will leave you with some sheets of dough at the end. Finish off by placing 10 buttered dough pieces down. This will leave you with a beautiful top layer.
7. I am going to be completely honest though: I have gotten lazy at the end before and just placed all the sheets down, then poured the entire melted butter over those pieces. It’s up to you and how you’re feeling after all this work. I like the layered look, so depending on the occasion I’d do the individual sheets method.
8. Once you’ve placed all your sheets, cut your masterpiece into strips of your liking. I’ve done tiny half-inch squares before and large diamond sizes too. Each time came out perfect!
9. Bake at 325°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.
10. Remove from oven and immediately spoon cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava (you’ll hear it sizzle). This will ensure it stays crisp rather than soggy. Let baklava cool completely, uncovered and at room temp. For best results, let it sit 4–6 hours or overnight for the syrup to penetrate and soften the layers.
11. Garnish baklava with finely chopped nuts or a drizzle of melted chocolate.
12. Store at room temp, covered with a tea towel, for 1 to 2 weeks. (You will eat all of them by then, trust me.)