There are many many different variations of baklava, and it depends on what part of Greece you are from. In my case, I learned how to make baklava from my yiayia. Enjoy~

Traditional Baklava Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 package phyllo dough, make sure to thaw before using

• 1 pound of toasted walnuts “finely chopped”

• 1/4 cup of demerara sugar

• 1 1/2 cups of clarified butter

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 cup of water

• 1 cup demerara sugar or granulated sugar (For thicker syrup use demerara)

• 2 Orange peels or lemon peels
• 1 Cinnamon stick

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1 cup honey

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C).
2. Butter the pan bottom, and sides.
3. In a food processor, chop the nuts, until medium-coarse grind. Set aside.
4. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut the phyllo in half, and place a lightly damp towel over the top of the phyllo. Make sure to trim phyllo according to pan size.
5. Place 7 sheets of phyllo on the bottom of the pan, making sure to butter each sheet.
6. Then sprinkle 1 1/4 cup of nut mixture in an even layer, then place 3 sheets of phyllo over the top. Repeat this process two more times. You should have “3” layers of nut mixture. You should have 8 sheets of phyllo left, and place them over the top. Butter each sheet.
7. Using a sharp knife cut into square shape pieces.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. (Make sure the bottom phyllo is golden brown as well.) You can place a piece of foil over the top of the bottom that isn’t fully cooked.
   While the baklava is baking, prepare the sauce. I say the sauce makes the baklava.
9. Boil sugar, water, and honey. Add 1 stick of cinnamon, orange peel, and vanilla.
10. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the syrup is thick.
11. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately serve the warm sauce over the baklava.
12. Serve with powdered cinnamon over the top & toasted nuts.
13. Do not refrigerate baklava, as it will get soggy. ( You can keep the baklava on a plate, wrapped with foil.)

Notes:

• Make sure when you make the syrup it becomes thick like honey. This is the key to a good baklava!!
• When you take the baklava out of the oven, pour the syrup over right away and let the syrup soak on the counter.
• I used the largest size pan I had in my kitchen. So I recommend using 9”x 13”x 2” but you can use a bit bigger or smaller.
• Do not place baklava in the fridge, because this will cause the phyllo to become soggy.

Kali Orexi!