Baklava With Honey Syrup Recipes

Steps:

• Coat a 13x9-in. baking pan with cooking spray. Unroll phyllo dough; trim to fit into pan., Layer two sheets of phyllo dough in prepared pan, spritz with cooking spray. Repeat three times. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons nuts. Top with two sheets of phyllo and spritz with cooking spray. Repeat layering with nuts, phyllo and cooking spray 10 times. Top with remaining phyllo dough, spritzing every other sheet with cooking spray., Using a sharp knife, cut into 30 triangles. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour over warm baklava. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and let stand for several hours or overnight.

Steps:

• You will need a disposable aluminum baking pan that is 19" long x 12" wide x 2" high.
• Mix the ground nuts, zwibeck/bread crumbs and cinnamon together in a large bowl. You will need a 1/2 cup measuring cup for portioning the mixture. Keep mixture close to your workstation.
• Melt the butter and Crisco over medium-low heat and keep close to your workstation. You will need a pastry brush- 2"- 3" wide works best.
• Open the plastic covering of the phyllo and remove. Lay out on a flat surface and unroll so that the entire sheet is visible. It may be wise to cover with a VERY lightly damp towel so that it does not dry out.
• Take your pastry brush and butter the pan- keep near your workstation.
• On a clean surface, start by taking an entire sheet of phyllo and laying it out in front of you with the long side facing you. Butter the sheet lightly and then place another sheet of phyllo on top of it. Butter this sheet.
• With the two sheets in front of you, take the next sheet and place on top with the top of the sheet covering only half of the full sheets. You will have the other half hanging below -this will stay unbuttered for now. Butter the top half and then fold over the hanging unbuttered half and let it rest on top. Butter this layer. REPEAT WITH ONE MORE SHEET OF PHYLLO.
• Using 1/2 cup measure, scoop out a portion of nuts and distribute evenly along the bottom half of the phyllo ( the area where there is now 6 layers).
• Starting at the edge where the nuts begin, roll the baklava tightly so that you have a "tube" that is 19" long and about 1 1/2" wide. Place this tube into the buttered pan, placing it against the side so that there is room for the 7 additional rolls that will join it. Butter the top and side of the tube and move on to your next roll.
• Repeat all steps until you have 8 rolls that fill the pan. Brush the entire top with more melted butter. Run your hand under cold water and sprinkle the water on top of the baklava. You want some water droplets on top but be careful not saturate it with too much!
• Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F while the baklava is in the fridge.
• Take the baklava and with a sharp knife cut the top into pieces- start by "trimming" the end 1/4" then start your cuts from there.
• Each roll can be cut into either 8 or 10 pieces and each roll will need to be cut individually.The cuts should be made at a 45° angle so that the pieces are diamond shaped. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH- you are simply scoring the pieces 3/4 of the way through.
• Place in hot oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes- the baklava needs to be a deep golden brown before it leaves the oven.
• Allow to cool completely, uncovered.
• At this point the baklava can be tightly wrapped in heavy duty foil and kept in a cool, dry place for up to 3 weeks.
• Two days before you are ready to serve, the syrup will need to be prepared and poured on top of the baklava.
• Take the sugar and water and bring to a medium boil. Time the syrup for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes add the lemon juice and return to a boil- time for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes add the honey and boil for an additional 4 minutes. Take off the heat.
• Using a ladle, put the hot syrup onto the baklava in an even manner, making sure that the entire pan is covered.
• Allow to sit uncovered until bottom of pan is cool, about 2 hours. Re-cover with foil and allow to sit for a minimum of 24 hours but preferably 48 hours. This allows the syrup to absorb into all of the phyllo layers.
• Using a serated butter knife, cut into pieces and enjoy. Be careful if you choose to use a sharp knife when cutting the pieces all the way through- puncturing the bottom of the pan will leave a goody mess behind!
• Variation- use 3 cups lightly toasted ground pecans and 1 cup mini chocolate chips in place of the walnuts. Omit the cinnamon but still use the 1/3 cup of zwibeck or bread crumbs. Finish pieces with a drizzle of melted dark chocolate. YUMMY!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F, and lightly grease a shallow baking tray.
• Place the sesame seeds in a small, non-stick pan over a medium heat, and cook, while shaking the pan gently, for 3-5 minutes or until golden and toasted.
• Transfer to a bowl, add the walnuts and cinnamon and mix well.
• Brush 1 pastry sheet with the melted butter and fold in half crossways to form a rectangle.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the walnut mixture evenly over the pastry; and starting from one of the long ends, roll it up into a log. Brush with butter. Place on a baking tray; and repeat with the remaining pastry, butter and walnut mixture.
• Bake the baklava for 10-12 minutes or until golden; and then allow them to cool on the baking tray.
• The Honey Syrup: Peel 1 large strip of rind from the lemon, remove the pith, juice half the lemon; then place the lemon rind, lemon juice, sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and 2 cups of water in a saucepan over a medium heat.
• Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved; increase the heat to high and bring to the boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10 minutes or until the honey syrup thickens slightly.
• Pour the hot honey syrup over the cold baklava, and stand for 30 minutes or until the baklava has absorbed the syrup. Cut each baklava diagonally into 3 pieces and serve.
• Tip: Purchase phyllo pastry from the fridge not the freezer, as the layers will separate much more easily.

Steps:

• Make the honey syrup: Combine the sugar, honey, orange zest, orange juice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a rapid simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and slowly simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let cool slightly. Remove the orange zest and reserve for the filling. Refrigerate the syrup until cold, at least 1 hour.
• Make the baklava: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the honey, cinnamon, salt and cloves; cook until the skillet is dry and the apples are sticky, 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Pulse the nuts in a food processor until finely chopped; transfer to a large bowl. Finely chop the reserved orange zest and add to the nuts. Add the apples and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and stir to combine.
• Melt the remaining 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan over low heat. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter. Unroll the phyllo dough onto a flat surface and cover with a damp towel. Lay 1 sheet of dough in the baking dish and lightly brush with some of the butter. (If there is a little excess phyllo just fold it over and brush lightly with more butter. If the sheet hangs out of the dish, trim to fit.) Sprinkle with some of the remaining 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs. Repeat the layering 5 more times (phyllo, butter, breadcrumbs). Scatter one-quarter of the apple-nut mixture on top.
• Layer 4 more sheets of phyllo on top, brushing with butter in between each; top with another one-quarter of the apple-nut mixture. Repeat this layering 2 more times (4 sheets of buttered phyllo, then one-quarter of the apple-nut mixture). Layer the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo on top, lightly brushing with butter in between each.
• Cut the baklava in half crosswise and lengthwise in the pan with a paring knife to make 4 quarters, cutting all the way through. Halve each quarter crosswise to make 8 rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 4 triangles. (You will end up with a total of 32 pieces.)
• Bake the baklava until golden and crisp, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven; immediately pour the honey syrup over the top. Let the syrup soak in completely while the baklava cools, at least 3 hours.

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Combine the nuts, cinnamon and ground crackers in a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with some of the butter. Layer 10 pieces of phyllo in the dish, brushing each piece with butter before adding the next (keep the remaining dough covered with a damp towel). Sprinkle a quarter of the nut mixture over the dough. Layer 4 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing each with butter before adding the next; sprinkle with another quarter of the nut mixture. Add 4 more phyllo pieces on top, brushing each with butter, then add another quarter of the nut mixture, 4 more pieces of phyllo with butter, and the remaining nuts.
• Layer the remaining 10 pieces of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing each with butter; brush the top piece with extra butter. Cut into the baklava to make strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then make diagonal slices, about 1 1/2 inches apart, to create a diamond pattern. Bake until golden, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup: Bring the sugar, honey and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and boil 2 more minutes, then let cool slightly.
• Pour the syrup over the warm baklava; let soak, uncovered, at least 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with nuts.

Steps:

• Make the syrup: Bring 2 cups water, the sugar and honey to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium low; simmer until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and rose water. Pour into a large liquid measuring cup or heatproof bowl and refrigerate until ready to use (or up to 1 day).
• Make the baklava: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 375 degrees F. Pulse the nuts, confectioners' sugar and cinnamon in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the vanilla and salt.
• Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with melted butter. Trim the phyllo to 9 by 13 inches with kitchen shears (fig. A); cover with a damp towel. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo in the prepared baking dish and brush with butter. Repeat with 5 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet. Scatter about 3/4 cup of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo stack. Top with 2 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet, then top with another 3/4 cup of the nut mixture. Repeat to make 2 more layers (use 2 sheets of buttered phyllo and 3/4 cup nut mixture for each layer), then top with the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet (fig. B). Scatter the remaining nut mixture on top.
• Cut the baklava into 32 triangles (fig. C). Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown and crisp, about 40 minutes (tent with foil if the nuts are browning too quickly).
• Remove from the oven and pour the prepared syrup evenly over the top. Let the syrup soak in, at least 2 hours.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the honey-citrus simple syrup: Whisk together the sugar, honey, water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the orange peel and continue to boil without stirring, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat to cool while you assemble the baklava. The syrup will thicken as it cools.
• For the nut filling: Add the pistachios and walnuts to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer the nuts to a large bowl along with the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. Set aside.
• To assemble: Brush a 9-by-13-inch pan with some of the melted butter. Unroll the whole package of phyllo and cut it in half to fit the pan or trim to fit flat. (As you work, cover the unused phyllo sheets with wax paper underneath a damp clean kitchen towel.) Lay 1 sheet of phyllo in the bottom of the pan. Brush with butter, covering the entire surface, then lay another sheet of phyllo on top. Repeat this process until you have 10 layers of phyllo, with butter brushed on top. Add half of the nut mixture, spreading it evenly over the buttered surface, then gently press in with your hands. Begin layering the phyllo and melted butter until you have 10 more layers of phyllo, with butter brushed on top. Add the remaining nut mixture, then layer 10 more sheets of phyllo, brushing with butter in between layers. Brush the top with melted butter, then score the phyllo dough into diamonds, cutting about 1/4-inch deep. (Cut 4 strips lengthwise, then diagonal cuts for a diamond shape).
• Bake until puffed and golden brown on top, about 1 hour. Ladle the cooled syrup over the top, allowing it to absorb in between pours. Allow the baklava to sit until the syrup is completely absorbed, at least 30 minutes. Separate into bars and serve. The baklava freezes very well.

Steps:

• Syrup: In a small saucepan, stir together sugar, honey, 3/4 cup water, zest and juice, corn syrup, and cinnamon sticks. Heat over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and cook, without stirring, until syrup thickens slightly and registers 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Let cool completely; discard zest and cinnamon sticks. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.) Syrup can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.
• Filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, finely grind all nuts. Add sugar, cinnamon, and salt; pulse just to combine. Transfer to a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Trim phyllo sheets to just fit inside baking dish(each about 8 1/2 by 12 1/2 inches). Lay phyllo flat on a work surface; cover with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying out. Place a sheet in prepared dish; brush generously with melted butter. Repeat with 6 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter before laying down next. Spread 1 cup filling evenly over top, then top with 5 more phyllo sheets, buttering each layer. Spread 1 cup fillingover top, followed by 5 morebuttered phyllo sheets. Spreadremaining filling over phyllo; finishwith 7 buttered phyllo sheets.
• Using a long, sharp knife, cut lengthwise all the way through layers at 2-inch intervals. Makediagonal cuts across strips to form 2-inch diamonds, again cutting all the way through layers. Pierce each diamond with a whole clove.
• Using your fingers, lightly sprinkle top of pastry with cold water (to prevent curling). Bake, rotating dish once, until baklava is deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and recut through all lines. Pour syrup over top, saturating fully; let cool at least 4 hours beforeserving. Baklava can be covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature up to 1 week.

Steps:

• MIx finely chooped walnuts, sugar and 1 heaping T rosewater set aside.
• Render butter and skim off curdle.
• Butter cookie sheets with curdle.
• Lay 1 sheet dough & butter entirely.
• Place another sheet over this and butter the ends.
• Mound nut mixture along the short end of the dough and roll up.
• Crimp the ends of the roll and place on cookie sheet
• Place rolls tightly against each other
• When sheet is full, butter the tops.
• Diagonal cut while raw.
• Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour (brown).
• Syrup - In a sauce pan, mix 1 bottle of white Karo syrup lite with a little water and 1 heaping T rosewater. Boil.
• Apply to bakliva while hot.
• Let cooll completely before storinn in air tight plastic container. May be frozen.

Steps:

• Combine sugar with 2 cups water in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve. Add lemon juice, zest, and cinnamon sticks to pan. Place over medium-high heat, and cook to 221 to 222 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• Add honey and stir to combine.

Steps:

• Make syrup:
• Combine sugar and water in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan. Squeeze juice from lemon and orange into sugar mixture. Add fruit halves and cinnamon sticks. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, then simmer 10 minutes. Stir in honey and return to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Pour through a sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl, pressing hard on, then discarding, solids. Chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.
• Assemble and bake baklava:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Whisk together almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until combined well.
• Generously brush a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish with melted butter. Halve phyllo sheets crosswise and stack sheets. Keep stack covered with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened clean kitchen towel. Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in bottom of baking dish and brush top sheet generously with butter. Continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, staggering sheets in each double layer slightly to cover bottom of dish, then brushing every second sheet generously with butter, until you have used 10 sheets of phyllo total. After brushing top layer of phyllo with butter, spread a rounded 1 1/2 cups of nut mixture over it. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons butter.
• Repeat layering 3 more times. Top with 10 more sheets of phyllo. (You will use 50 sheets of phyllo total.) Butter top and let baklava stand at room temperature to harden slightly (to facilitate cutting), 10 to 15 minutes.
• Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 16 equal rectangles, then cut each piece in half diagonally. (Be sure to cut all the way through.)
• Bake baklava until golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer dish to a rack to cool, then slowly pour cold syrup around edges of hot baklava, in between all cuts, and over top. Let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours. (Cover once baklava is at room temperature.) Do not chill.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, pulse walnuts, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground.
• In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup water and remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar over medium-high; bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer; cook until slightly thickened and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in honey. Let syrup cool completely.
• Brush a 12-by-2-inch round cake pan with butter. Trim each phyllo sheet into a 13-inch round (cover with plastic and a damp towel as you work). Carefully layer 7 phyllo sheets in pan, brushing butter between each layer. Sprinkle one-third of nut mixture over top. Repeat process twice more, brushing butter between each layer. Top with remaining 7 phyllo sheets, brushing butter between each layer.
• Generously brush top layer with butter. Using a sharp knife with a very thin blade (such as a boning knife), cut baklava into quarters, cutting through all phyllo layers. Halve each quarter to create 8 equal wedges. Working within one wedge at a time, make two straight cuts, 1 inch apart, parallel to one side of wedge. Make two more cuts, parallel to opposite side of same wedge, creating a diamond pattern. Repeat process in remaining 7 wedges.
• Bake until deep golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; pour syrup over baklava. Let cool completely before serving.

Steps:

• SYRUP: On Med-High heat add Sugar, 1/4 Cup of Water, Pomegranate syrup, orange juice, zest, and cinnamon stick in to a high sided sauce pan. Dissolve sugar and bring to light boil.
• Immediately add Honey and reduce to simmer (on low, or low-medium) for 10-20min. It will bubble up, but keep an eye on it. It should not get out of control if the fire isn't too high. Better a lower heat than a higher heat.
• Remove from heat, as in turn burner off and remove from burner too.
• Drip a few drops of syrup on counter/plate as it cooks and after it is removed from the heat. If it hardens when it cools (think REALLY sticky caramel), add reserved water until drops tests shows syrup can cool and be easily spread on the plate. Do NOT return to the heat before you add water!
• If the syrup then gets too watery, put it back and the stove until it's right!
• Strain into bowl - set aside to cool before pouring onto hot baklava.
• Note: By using honey you get the best flavor, but also the added benefit of stabilization - this syrup is hard to mess up unless you burn it! If you own a candy thermometer, try to keep it under the "thead" stage, or 230F - if you go over, thin it out with water AFTER you remove it from the heat.
• BUTTER: Clarify butter over low to med-low heat until all water has boiled away.
• Remove from heat and skim off milk solids. Set aside.
• You may "brown" butter slightly for added flavor (I do).
• Melt shortening if you run out of butter towards the end of the assembly process. The point is to dry the butter out (because it is 8% water), but shortening has far less to start - it won't kill anything to use butter flavored shorting either, it's a matter of opinion. Remember: Butter = better flavor. Shortening = better texture.
• FILLING: Pulse all Filling ingredients in food processor until largest pieces are no bigger than a pea - but not until all is powder.
• ASSEMBLY: Heat oven to 400°F.
• Prepare your pan (9x13 is great) with either parchment paper and/ butter or spray.
• Unwrap Phyllo and cut to the size of your pan (this makes it WAY easier!).
• Layer 10 sheets of Phyllo in this order: Butter, Phyllo, butter, Phyllo, butter, etc.
• Add 1/3 of nuts, another 6 layers of Phyllo then butter.
• Add 1/3 of nuts, another 6 layers of Phyllo then butter.
• Add 1/3 of nuts, then the last 8 layers of layers of Phyllo then remaining butter.
• I like to spoon on the butter first and then spread it with the brush, always working from the inside out. If a sheet breaks, just patch it up. If the Phyllo is too small, overlap another piece to form one layer - no stress!
• Cut baklava into pieces using a slim, sharp, smooth edged knife (e.g. boning or paring knife).
• In my 9"x13" I get 48 pieces by cutting the pan in 4 pieces lengthwise, then 6 pieces widthwise, then each square diagonally. Make sure to cut with a pulling motion in order to cut smoothly (no STABBING), this may mean stopping to turn the pan around.
• Bake in 400F degree oven for 15min, reduce heat to 300F and bake for another 40-55min, checking to make sure it only turns a pale brown.
• IMMEDIATELY after removing baklava from oven - while baklava is hot- ladle the syrup over the top. It will sputter but that is a good thing. Make sure to get in between all of the crevices and cuts.
• Let Baklava cool at least until room temperature before serving. Better yet, after it is room temperature (2-3 hours) cover it (yes, cover) and let it sit until you can't wait any longer (at least 8hrs)... serve!
• Store in air tight (yes, covered) container for up to 5 days. Some people think that covering it will make it go soggy. The truth is that air carries moisture and the longer something sits out in the air, the more moisture it attracts - especially SWEETS because sugar and honey absorbed tons of moisture. The less air is sees, the better - until service that is!