People’s Choice Winner – Bubbe’s Baklava
Ingredients:
16 oz phyllo dough
1 ¼ cups unsalted butter (10oz or 2 ½ sticks), melted
1 lb walnuts, cashews, and/or pistachios
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup honey
2 Tbsp lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
¾ cup water
1 tsp rose or orange blossom water
Chocolate chips, melted, and chopped nuts for garnish (optional)
Prep:
Thaw phyllo dough overnight in the fridge, then place on counter for 1 hour before starting your recipe to bring to room temperature.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 13×9 non-stick baking pan.
Trim phyllo dough to fit your baking pan.
Honey Sauce:
Combine 1 cup sugar, ½ cup honey, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and ¾ cup water in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved.
Reduce heat to medium-low and boil an additional 4 minutes without stirring.
Remove from heat and let cool while preparing baklava.
Assemble Baklava:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pulse nuts in a food processor until coarsely ground (about 10 pulses) or chop nuts finely. Add to a medium sized bowl and combine with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Place a phyllo sheet into your buttered baking pan and brush the top of the sheet with melted butter. Repeat 9 times, for a total of 10 layers of phyllo. Keep a damp towel over the remaining phyllo sheets throughout the process.
Cover with 1/5 of your nut mixture (about ¾ cup).
Add another 5 sheets of phyllo dough, buttering each sheet as you go.
Repeat the above two steps four more times, until you have used all of your nut mixture.
Top with another 10 sheets of phyllo dough, again buttering each sheet as you go.
Chill for 1 hour.
Bake Baklava:
Cut your assemble baklava into 1 ½ inch wide strips, then cut diagonally to form diamond-shaped pieces.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
Remove from oven and immediately spoon cooled honey sauce evenly over the hot baklava (you will hear it sizzle – this ensures your baklava stays crisp, not soggy).
Let baklava cool completely, uncovered and at room temperature. For best results, let baklava sit 8 hours or overnight for the sauce to penetrate and soften the layers.
Garnish baklava with finely chopped nuts and/or drizzle with melted chocolate.
Store at room temperature, covered with a tea towel, for 1-2 weeks.
