baklava!

back on february 24th i made baklava! it turned out so damn good. just looking at these pictures makes me want more.

the baklava turned out fabulous! definitely less sweet than most i've had, but still sweet. i found just the *right* balance of sweetness i think. sometimes picking and choosing between multiple versions of a recipe can help me figure out the right amounts to use.

finely chop the nuts


layer the nuts between sheets of buttered phyllo dough


cut thru all the layers


mix up the syrup while the baklava bakes


pour the syrup over the baked baklava


then comes the hardest part. you have to leave it alone for 4 hours. let it sit and soak in.


its worth the wait


yum


yumyumyum



based on these three recipes, i came up with my own

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872221447494/ - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/12/baklava/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872221458453/ - http://natashaskitchen.com/2014/12/21/baklava-recipe/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872221458656/ - http://www.aboutamom.com/baking-fantasy-baklava/


Ingredients
1 package Phyllo Dough
4 cups Chopped Walnuts Or Pecans (i used both)
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 sticks Butter, Melted

Syrup
1/2 cups Honey
3/4 cup Water
1 cup Sugar
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Preparation Instructions
-Remove one package of phyllo dough package from freezer and place in the fridge for 24 hours to thaw. Remove from fridge 1 hour before using.
-When working with the phyllo dough, only remove the sheets you immediately need, keeping the other sheets covered in plastic wrap, then a damp cloth. it will dry out fast! do not press flat, the sheets will then stick to each other.

-Pulse the nuts and cinnamon in food processor about 10 times. Set aside.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly butter a 9x13 baking pan. Make sure the sheets of phyllo will generally fit the pan (if they're a little bigger, that's okay.) If they're much bigger, just trim them with a sharp knife.
-Pull two sheets of phyllo dough and place in pan. butter top sheet. two more sheets, then butter, two more sheets, then butter. so there are six sheets on bottom (or so, exactness isnt required, and sometimes the sheets stick to each other and you get however many are stuck together).
-Sprinkle on a layer of walnuts. Add two sheets of phyllo on top of the walnuts and butter. Add more walnuts, then two more buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat this a couple more times, or until you're out of walnuts. Top with two more sheets, butter, two sheets, butter, two sheets, and butter. so six on top.
-Cut a diagonal diamond pattern in the baklava using a very sharp knife.
-Bake for 45 minutes, or until the baklava is very golden brown.

-While the baklava is baking, combine honey, water, sugar, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
-When you remove the baklava from the oven, drizzle half the saucepan evenly all over the top. Allow it to sit and absorb for a minute, then drizzle on a little more until you think it's thoroughly moistened. You'll likely have some of the honey mixture leftover.

-Now comes the hardest part. Allow the baklava to cool, uncovered, for 4-6 hours or overnight, to allow the syrup to penetrate all the layers. Once cool, carefully remove them from the pan and serve.

when using one package of phyllo dough, the layers are like this:
6-8 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 cup nuts
2-4 buttered sheets, 1 cup nuts
2-4 buttered sheets, 1 cup nuts
2-4 buttered sheets, 1 cup nuts
6-8 buttered sheets, butter the top.

if you want to use both packages of phyllo dough, try doing the layers like this instead:
10 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nuts
5 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts
5 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts
5 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts
5 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts
10 buttered sheets, butter the top.