Jeez, I’ve gotten no less than three requests for my grandmother’s baklava recipe, so I’ll let you have it for two fifty. (bwa ha).
No, seriously — here it is. Caveat Baker.
Yia-Yia Koula’s Baklava
4 cups nuts (walnuts and pistachios are the most common, slivered almonds can be mixed in with either), shelled and chopped
1 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1 package pre-made phyllo sheets – defrosted.
2 stick margarine OR 1 stick margarine and butter-flavored cooking spray
cloves
1 lemon
rose water or cinnamon stick (whichever you like more)
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Place the stick of margarine in a bowl, and microwave until melted.
3. Mix the nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the melted margarine and stir until blended.
4. Open the phyllo. If you’ve never worked with phyllo before, the trick is that you shouldn’t let it dry out, which it does very quickly. The standard “trick” is to lay all of the sheets out flat and cover them with a kitchen towel while you work with the sheets in the pan.
5. With cooking spray or the other stick of melted butter/margarine, coat the bottom of a 9×12 pan. Take one sheet of phyllo and place it in the bottom of the pan as neatly as possible (try to avoid wrinkles or bubbles). Spray or brush the top of the sheet. Place another sheet of phyllo on top, and spray or brush. Repeat this process until you have 10 sheets of phyllo in the pan.
6. Trim the phyllo down to fit the bottom of the pan. I use a pizza cutter – a sharp knife works nicely too.
7. Spread half of the nut-sugar-cinnamon mixture evenly over the phyllo, all the way to the edges.
8. Layer three more sheets of phyllo, brushing or spraying each one individually.
9. Spread the other half of the nut-cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly on top.
10. Layer the remaining phyllo on top, brushing or spraying each one individually.
11. Score the top strata of phyllo (through to the nut mixture) to create pieces about 1 1/2 inches square. Pierce each piece in the center with a clove.
12. Place the pan in the oven (uncovered) for 15 minutes.
13. Turn the pan 180 degrees, lower temperature to 350, and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.
14. In a saucepan, combine the 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1/2 cup water, juice of 1 lemon and a dash of rose water or the cinnamon stick over medium-high heat. (Careful, a little rose water goes a really long way.) Stir until all of the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the syrup has thickened a bit. Remove the syrup from heat and cool completely.
16. When finished, remove the baklava from the oven and cool.
17. When the syrup is completely cool, slowly drizzle/pour over the baklava evenly. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or for several hours.
18. Serve with ouzo. Opa!
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