Flaky, buttery and sweet Baklava is heaven on earth with crispy phyllo layers and chopped walnuts with a honey glaze.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Chilling Time1 hourhr
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: Baklava, Phyllo dough
Servings: 12
Calories: 537kcal
Author: Kellie
Cost: $10
Equipment
1 baking dish
Ingredients
1package phyllo doughthawed
16ozwalnutschopped
¼cupsugargranulated
2TBSPground cinnamon
1/8tspground clove
1cupbutterunsalted melted
Honey topping
1/3cupsugar
½cupwater
½cuphoney
1.5TBSPLemon juice
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Make the honey topping - Dissolve the sugar and water in a pot on the medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the honey and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and let simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10-15 minutes, then add the lemon juice.
Next, place the walnuts in a food processor plus a few times until completely chopped. Place the chopped walnuts in a medium size mixing bowl.
Add the sugar, cinnamon, and cloves to the chopped walnuts which yields about 4 cups. Time to assemble the Baklava!!
Unroll the thawed phyllo dough and be sure to cover it with damp paper towels to prevent it from drying out and cracking.
Keep the plastic sheet the phyllo is rolled in to keep the phyllo covered, and then your damp paper towels on top of the plastic sheet. This will ensure the damp paper towels don’t come into contact with the phyllo- if it does that’s okay but it might cause the sheets to stick together then tear when lifting to put into the casserole dish.
In a 9x13” baking dish brush the bottom with a small amount of melted butter.
Place one sheet of phyllo in the pan, you may need to fold it in half on one side to have it fit. Brush it with butter and repeat the process 4 more times (for a total of 5 phyllo sheets, each brushed with butter). Note: It helps to brush butter on the sides of the phyllo so it will stick to the baking dish, then brush just enough butter to cover the layer of phyllo.
The sheets might move around when adding the butter; once brushed and the phyllo sheet has something to hold on to, it won’t move as much when brushing.
Place half the nut mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo. (about 2 cups of filling)
Top with one sheet of phyllo in the pan, you may need to fold it in half to have it fit or you can trim it with kitchen shears. Brush it with butter and repeat the process 4 more times
Top evenly with the remaining nut mixture.
Finish with all the remaining sheets of phyllo in the pan, folding one side as necessary. Brush it with butter and repeat the process with the remaining sheets (about 8-10 depending on packaging)
Cut the pastry as desired.
Notes
The images were made by cutting lengthwise down the center, then cut again lengthwise on either side of the center cut. Then the dish was turned landscape and cuts were made at a diagonal to make angled rectangles.Bake in the 350 degree oven on a middle rack for 35 -45 minutes or until golden brown. Check ½ way through the baking and rotate your pan if needed.Remove from the oven and pour the honey topping over the hot baklava. Let cool for at least 2-3 hours before serving. Garnish with additional chopped nuts and honey Can be made with other nuts including pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts or a mixture of them.