Classic Greek Baklava Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325. Layer half of the sheets of phyllo one sheet at a time, in a greased 11x7x2 baking pan, brushing each sheet evenly with butter and folding ends over if necessary to fit into pan.
• Keep unused sheets covered with plastic wrap while assembling baklava to prevent drying.
• Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar and cinnamon; stir in walnuts.
• Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over buttered phyllo in pan.
• Layer remaining phyllo, one sheet at a time, over nut mixture, brushing each sheet evenly with butter.
• Cut diagonally into squares, cutting completely through all layers.
• Bake in preheated oven until crisp and golden, about one hour.
• Combine remaining sugar, the water, lemon juice and honey in small saucepan; cook and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Heat to boiling; pour evenly over hot baklava.
• Let stand loosely covered 8 hours or overnight.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9 by 13-inch pan.
• Mix the nuts with cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup of melted butter. Set aside.
• Unroll the phyllo pastry. Cut the whole stack in half to fit the pan. Cover the phyllo with a dampened clean kitchen towel to keep the phyllo from drying out as you work. Lay 2 phyllo sheets in the pan and using a brush, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 6 sheets layered.
• Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups nut mixture on top. Layer with 2 phyllo sheets, brush with butter and add nuts to end up with 4 layers of nuts and dough. The top layer should be about 6 to 8 phyllo sheets deep.
• Using a sharp knife, cut diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut 4 long rows then make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the baklava is golden and crisp.
• Make the sauce while the baklava is baking. Boil the water and remaining sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add the honey and vanilla. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the sauce over it. Let cool.
• In the meantime, place the grapes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the grapes start to burst.
• Serve the baklava with Greek yogurt, the baked grapes and a drizzle of honey and crushed walnuts.
• Cook's Notes:.
• Walnuts can be replaced by any kind of nuts or a combination of nuts. Phyllo pastry is available in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
• 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.
• 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.
• Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
• 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.

Steps:

• Make the syrup by bringing the water, 3/4 cup sugar, orange juice, honey, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 10x15 inch baking dish.
• Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground walnuts until evenly blended; set aside.
• Press 2 sheets of phyllo into the prepared dish and brush with melted butter. Continue adding phyllo sheets brushed with butter two at a time until you have 12 sheets total. Sprinkle 1/3 of the walnut mixture evenly over the phyllo, then add another 6 sheets, buttering between every two. Sprinkle 1/2 of the remaining walnut mixture evenly over the phyllo; top with another 6 buttered phyllo sheets. Finally, sprinkle the remaining walnut mixture onto the phyllo. Place the remaining phyllo on top of the baklava, buttering every two sheets. Brush the remaining butter onto the top of the baklava.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the phyllo is golden brown and crispy, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven; pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava. Cool to room temperature before cutting into 1-inch squares or diamonds to serve.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves; set aside. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter. Unroll 1 package phyllo dough; cut stack into a 10-1/2x9-in. rectangle. Repeat with remaining phyllo. Discard scraps., Line bottom of prepared pan with 2 sheets of phyllo dough (sheets will overlap slightly). Brush with butter. Repeat layers 14 times. (Keep dough covered with a damp towel until ready to use to prevent it from drying out.) , Spread with 2 cups walnut mixture. Top with 5 layers of phyllo dough, brushing with butter between each sheet. Spread with remaining walnut mixture. Top with 1 layer of phyllo dough; brush with butter. Repeat 14 times. Cut into 2-1/2-in. squares; cut each square in half diagonally. Brush remaining butter over top. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown., In a large saucepan, bring syrup ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and discard zest; cool to lukewarm. Pour syrup over warm baklava.

Steps:

• For the honey syrup: in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and orange peel and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the honey and boil for 3-4 minutes so the syrup thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside to let cool. You can refrigerate the cooled syrup in an airtight container for 4 days. (*If you are only making half the recipe [i.e., a small batch], make only half the syrup.*)
• For the nut filling: Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse them a few times until they are chopped to a medium-fine consistency (making sure to not over-process them or the nuts will become a paste). Put the chopped walnuts in a bowl and combine them with the sugar, breadcrumbs, cinnamon and cloves. Divide the mixture into two equal portions; one for each of the two round pans.
• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• To assemble the small batch baklava: unwrap and unfold the filo. Place it on a large cutting board, and, using the bottom of an 8" cake pan as a guide, cut the sheets of filo into two stacks of 8" circles (see photo). Set aside the second stack of filo sheets and cover it with plastic wrap and a towel. Brush the sides of the first pan with some melted butter. Place one filo sheet in the bottom of the pan and brush it with some butter. Repeat with 7 more filo sheets, placing each one in the pan and making sure to butter each one of them. Sprinkle ⅓ cup of the first nut mixture evenly over the eighth sheet. Layer the next 2 buttered filo rounds and sprinkle another ⅓ cup of nuts. Repeat with two more layers of buttered filo and the last ⅓ cup of nuts. Continue layering the rest 8 sheets of filo sheets until they are all used. There should be about 20 filo sheets in total, depending on the thickness of the filo and the brand. Repeat the same with the second stack of filo rounds and the remaining half of the nut mixture. (* If you are making half the recipe [i.e., a small batch], wrap the second pan with plastic wrap and then with heavy duty aluminum foil and place it in the freezer for another time.*]
• Scoring and Baking: using a serrated knife with a pointed tip, cut the baklava into small squares or diamond-shaped pieces, or, follow the star pattern of the photo. If you wish, top each piece with a small, whole clove for decoration. Bake, uncovered, for about 45-50 minutes or until the top layers of filo are light golden and crisp. Every oven is different, so the cooking time may vary.
• Remove from the oven and pour the cooled honey syrup slowly and evenly over the top of the baklava and especially over the cut lines (the syrup will sizzle). It might look like a lot of syrup initially, but it will all be absorbed as it cools down. Let the baklava sit uncovered for at least 8 hours (overnight is best) before serving. It can be covered loosely and stored for a week at room temperature.