Baklava is surprisingly easy to make and will delight your taste buds! So much better than any you will buy – guaranteed!!
Ingredients
1 pkg of phyllo dough
1 lb chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachio, almonds but any nuts will do)
1 cup butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c. water
1 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
*½ c honey
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 pan.
Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside.
Unroll dough from the package. Cut the whole stack in ½ to fit the pan.
Keep dough you are not working with covered with a damp (not wet) cloth to prevent drying out.
Place 2 sheets in the pan and using a pastry brush, butter it well.
Repeat until 8 sheets are layered.
Sprinkle 2 – 3 Tbsp. of nut mixture evenly on top of the phyllo layers.
Top with 2 sheets of dough, butter, nuts and repeat these layers 6 – 8 times.
Using a sharp knife cut into squares or diamond shapes.
Bake approximately 50 minutes or until golden brown.
Make sauce while baklava is baking.
Mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar and bring to a boil dissolving the sugar.
Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract and ½ cup honey* and simmer for 20 minutes and mixture starts to thicken.
Remove the baklava from the oven once finished and spoon the sauce over top. Garnish with additional nuts if desired.
*Fireweed Honey – the champion of honeys, it is light to clear with a smooth delicate flavour. It is mild with a lovely buttery finish pairing so well with the buttery baklava.