Monday, January 16, 2012

Baklava

This weekend we had our monthly Supper Club get together.  This month's theme was Greek food.  I decided to make dessert this month.  Of course, when I did a search for Greek desserts, baklava always came up.  I didn't think that I liked this but since it's the dessert you think of when you think of Greece, I figured that I HAD to make it.  I also made some cookies (that recipe is in the next post!) just in case.  Well, what I realized from making this is that I hate working with phyllo dough BUT I do like baklava!  This dessert was much easier than I thought it would be to make.  Although I haven't had baklava all that much, I believe it's supposed to be sweet, which this recipe definitely was. For me, it was an addicting sweet, where I was eating the leftovers up like they were candy!  My daughter on the other hand didn't enjoy them, saying they were "too sweet" for her.  Just to note, I only used 1/2 of the 16 oz. package of phyllo dough and only 1/2 cup of butter.

Baklava
allrecipes.com - by NEONWILLIE

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped nuts
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.

2.Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.

3.Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.

4.Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

5.Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.

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