Description
A rich, sweet dessert made of layers of phyllo pastry filled with chopped walnuts and sweetened with honey syrup.
Ingredients
Scale
- 16 ounces phyllo dough (thawed according to package instructions)
- 1 ¼ cups salted butter (melted)
- 1 lb finely chopped walnuts (about 4 cups)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Thaw phyllo dough completely by placing it in the fridge overnight. Let the package of phyllo sit the next day, unopened, on the counter for 1 hour.
- Butter the sides and bottom of the baking dish (9×13-inch). Trim phyllo to fit in the bottom of the pan, if necessary. Keep the trimmed dough covered in a damp cloth.
- Chop walnuts in a food processor by pulsing 10-12 times until coarsely ground or chop with a sharp knife until very finely chopped. Stir together the walnuts and cinnamon.
- Prepare the sauce before assembling the baklava by combining the sugar, water, honey, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to boil for 4 minutes more without stirring. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Layer 10 sheets of phyllo pastry into the bottom of the pan, brushing a thin layer of melted butter between each layer. Keep unused phyllo dough covered.
- Sprinkle about ⅕ of the chopped walnuts and cinnamon (roughly ¾ cup) evenly over the first 10 pastry sheets.
- Repeat 4 more times using 5 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with melted butter before adding the next sheet. Sprinkle ¾ cup of the chopped walnut mixture after every 5 layers.
- Finish the baklava with a final, top layer of phyllo dough brushed with butter using the remaining 6-10 sheets. Brush the top sheet with butter.
- Carefully slice the baklava into 1 ½-inch wide strips lengthwise, then diagonally to create diamond shapes, or just slice squares.
- Bake in the 325°F oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle all of the cooled syrup over the baklava.
- Let cool completely at room temperature for 4-6 hours before serving, uncovered, to allow the pastry to soak up the syrup.
Notes
- Ensure that the phyllo dough is kept covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying out while working.
- The syrup can be made ahead of time to allow it to cool completely before drizzling over the baklava.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 30mg