Bacon Pecan Bourbon Baklava Recipes

Steps:

• Make Baklava:
• Preheat oven to 375 ̊F with rack in the middle. Lightly brush a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with melted butter.
• Pulse pecans, sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor until finely chopped.
• Cut phyllo sheets in half crosswise, forming 18 (12 by 8 1/2-inch) sheets, then arrange in 1 stack and cover with plastic wrap.
• Keeping remaining phyllo covered and working quickly, place 1 sheet on a work surface and gently brush with butter. Top with another sheet and brush with butter. Continue layering until you have a stack of 6 buttered sheets. Transfer stack to the baking dish and sprinkle with one-third of the pecan mixture. Build a second stack of 3 phyllo sheets, buttering between each layer. Transfer to a baking dish sprinkle with half of remaining pecan mixture. Repeat with another stack of 3 buttered sheets and sprinkle with remaining pecan mixture. Top with a stack of 6 buttered sheets.
• Score pastry with a sharp knife in quarters lengthwise, then score on a diagonal making 6 cuts about 2 inches apart to create a diamond pattern.
• Bake baklava 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 ̊F until top is golden, 40-45 minutes more.
• Make syrup while baklava bakes:
• Bring honey, sugar, water, cloves, zest, and 1/4 cup bourbon to a simmer in a small pot, stirring until sugar and honey have dissolved. Remove from heat and let stand while baklava finishes baking.
• When baklava has finished baking, transfer in pan to a rack. Boil syrup until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 Tbsp bourbon. Discard zest and cloves and pour hot syrup to be absorbed and flavors to develop. Cut into diamonds by cutting lengthwise into fourths, then diagonally across.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain., Coarsely crumble bacon into a food processor; add almonds and dates. Cover and process until finely chopped., Brush a 13x9-in. baking pan with some of the butter. Unroll phyllo dough; trim to fit into pan., Layer five sheets of phyllo dough in prepared pan, brushing each with butter. (Keep remaining dough covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Sprinkle with a third of the bacon mixture. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with butter., Using a sharp knife, cut into 1-1/2-in. diamond shapes. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Pour over warm baklava. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring honey, cinnamon sticks, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup water to a boil in medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil until syrup is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, stir in bourbon, and let cool.
• Meanwhile, spread pecans on large rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown, 13-15 minutes. Let cool. Transfer nuts to a food processor. Add ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. orange zest, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar and pulse until coarsely chopped.
• Place stack of phyllo sheets on a work surface. Keep any phyllo you're not currently working with covered under a layer of plastic wrap topped with a slightly damp kitchen towel. Using base of springform pan as a guide, and starting at edge of phyllo, carefully cut out 20 (9") circles, leaving as much phyllo remaining as possible. Cover phyllo circles. Using base of pan as a guide, cut remaining phyllo into 20 (4 1/2") half-circles.
• Insert base into pan and secure the latch. Brush base with butter. Place 1 phyllo circle in pan and brush generously with butter. Top with 2 half-circles to create a full circle, brush with butter. Top with full circle, brush again. Top with 2 more half-circles at a 90° angle from the first half-circle layer, brush with butter. Top with a full circle, and brush again. You should have 5 layers of pastry (full circle - half-circles - full circle - half circles - full circle), with butter spread between each layer. Spread one-fifth of nut mixture over phyllo. Repeat layering 4 more times. Top with the 5 remaining phyllo circles; brush top with butter.
• Using a sharp knife, score the top layer (do not cut through to bottom of pan) to divide into 4 quadrants. Working with 1 quadrant at a time, make 1 straight cut to divide the quadrant into 2 even wedges. Make 4 more straight cuts (2 each on either side of, and parallel to the quadrant division line), spacing evenly apart. Now working within each wedge, make 2 evenly-spaced cuts parallel to the outside edge of the quadrant, connecting at points with the previous cuts to form a diamond pattern. Repeat with the remaining quadrants to create a starburst pattern. Transfer pan to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until phyllo is golden brown, about 45 minutes.
• Spoon cooled syrup over hot baklava in 4 additions. Place orange curls on top. Let cool completely in pan. Remove springform ring and cut baklava along the scored lines.
• Do Ahead
• Syrup can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Baklava can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine sugar, bourbon, 1 cup water, vanilla bean, and reserved seeds. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook until mixture registers 225° on a deep-frying/candy thermometer. Remove from heat, and stir in honey. Strain mixture, discarding vanilla bean. Let cool completely. In a large bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Line a 17x12-inch rimmed baking sheet with 1 sheet of phyllo dough, letting edges of dough extend over sides of pan, if necessary. Brush with melted butter. Continue layering pan with phyllo dough, covering bottom of pan only, to make 8 layers. Brush between layers with melted butter. (To prevent phyllo from drying when not in use, cover with a moist towel.) Sprinkle 3/4 cup pecan mixture evenly over top layer of phyllo. Cover pecan layer with 1 layer phyllo; brush with melted butter. Repeat procedure with remaining pecan mixture for 8 more layers. Top the last layer of nuts with 9 layers of phyllo, brushing all but the top sheet with butter. (Trim edges of phyllo if they overhang.) Preheat oven to 300°. Cut layers diagonally into 3/4- to 1-inch diamonds. In a small saucepan, heat remaining butter over medium heat until butter has a nutty aroma and is dark brown in color. Pour butter evenly over baklava. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool completely. Pour bourbon mixture evenly over baklava. Let sit for at least 24 hours before removing from pan. Store at room temperature for up to 1 week.