Happy National Baklava Day!!

It is midweek and I am craving my baklava rolls again. We had my virtual baklava class a month ago and it was so fun! I had a good team of participants, so that made things go well. If you haven’t tried my baklava recipe yet please give it a go here.

Let’s talk about baklava rolls! When I was super busy before covid hit I was making baklava like crazy for my customers. The most popular highly demanded dessert is baklava. So I found a way to finally cut my time in half by making the baklava rolls.

Why baklava rolls?

Cut your time in half literally. It is so easy to make. You take a few sheets of phyllo dough, brush with butter, add the nut mixture, bake, pour syrup, and done. If you are in a time crunch, this is seriously the recipe to tackle folks.

Baklava Rolls (A simple way to make baklava)

This recipe is also in my second cookbook- A Drop of Ladi & My Greek Soul

Ingredients:

Baklava:

• 1 1/2 cups clarified unsalted butter or 3 sticks of butter 
• 2 pounds of toasted walnuts (or other nuts of your choice), chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon + more to serve 
• 1 package of phyllo dough (make sure you unthaw the phyllo well in advance)

Syrup:

• 3 cups of cold water
• 1 cup demerara sugar or granulated sugar (for a thicker syrup use demerara)
• 2 cups honey
• 1 cinnamon stick ( use 2 if you like the cinnamon taste) 
• 1 orange or lemon reserve peels (optional) 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• A small pinch of finely ground sea salt 

Prepare the syrup ( I do this ahead of time) 

1. Boil water, sugar, and honey. Add the cinnamon stick, orange or lemon peel, salt, and vanilla.
2. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the syrup has reduced in half. It should resemble almost a golden honey sauce. Set aside until the baklava is ready.
3. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately serve the warm sauce over the baklava.

Prepare the baklava rolls

1. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a flat surface. 
2. Butter the sheet, then add 2 heaping tablespoons of the nut mixture over the lower bottom of the phyllo. Gently roll the phyllo over the nut mixture into a tight cigar shape.
3. Place seam side down, cut in half, and place both rounds on a baking sheet. Be careful, as the nut mixture can easily fall out. (A good way to keep the nuts in place is to add a teaspoon of honey to the phyllo, and then sprinkle the nut mixture over the honey.) The other method is to roll the phyllo sheet as mentioned above, but instead of cutting the phyllo leave it as is. This will be a bigger baklava roll, but that is fine. (You can see the photo below that is made with this method.)
4. Bake rolls at 325° F, until golden brown. Pour hot syrup over the rolls and serve. Sprinkle rolls with additional nut mixture. 

Notes:
Do not refrigerate the baklava as it will get soggy. You can keep it on a plate wrapped with foil.

We all make baklava differently depending on the region of Greece you are from. With that said, do give baklava rolls a try!

You can make the traditional baklava triangles here. 

**If you make this recipe, tag us! We would love to see your work. Use #cookingwithkouzounaskitchen.

*Recipe updated January 5th, 2025