Easy Breezy Baklava

Baklava is a Mediterranean rich sweet pastry dessert made with layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened further with a drizzle of syrup or honey. It looks complicated to make, and recipes online seem to not be amateur friendly, but I found a way to make this dessert the easy breezy way.   

You will need…

3 cups finely chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachios, and/or almonds)

1 tablespoon Cinnamon sugar

1 cup Karo syrup (I used Light Karo syrup so that I feel less guilty when I’m eating)

Filo dough (sometimes phyllo)

A stick of melted butter sometimes more(I told you, you’ll need the light syrup)

A brownie pan ( 9 x 12 or 8 x 8)

Pasrty brush

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees

In a bowl, mix in the nuts, half of the syrup, and the cinnamon sugar.

Lay the filo dough sheets flat on the table. Cut them according to the dimensions of your pan. It does not have to be perfectly fitting, a little extra on the edges are okay.

Brush the bottom of your pan with melted butter. Lay two sheets of filo dough at a time. Brushing the dough with butter in between two layer sheets. Do this until you have laid about 10 layers. If the filo dough crumples in the middle, do not worry. This will add more texture to your dessert.

When you are done with the filo dough base, it is time to make the nutty layers of the dessert. Put in about a cup of the nut mixture over the base layer and spread flat with a spoon or spatula. Top with a layer of 4 filo sheets, remembering to brush butter in between 2 sheet layers. Repeat the nut layer 2 more times.

Top your pan with about six sheets of filo dough layers (again, brushing butter in between two sheet layers)… or use all the dough you have left over, if there isn’t enough left anyways.

Tuck in the sides of the top filo dough layer to the sides of the pan. Use the blunt end of a butter knife or a spoon handle.

Then with a good knife, cut your baklava into squares or triangles.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until nice, brown and crisp.

While the baklava is still hot, pour in the remaining syrup mixture in between the sliced areas. You will hear a sizzling sound as you do this. (A signal of Yummy!)

Let it cool, serve, then enjoy.