I have a Cooking Bucket List, Yes! It is long and I wanted to make each item in the list in my lifetime. When I accomplish any recipe in the list as per my satisfaction, its a proud moment for me and very motivating for my tiny cooking repertoire. Well, in a time of “no sugar-no oil” healthy food (pun intended if you find one) fulfilling cooking bucket list is a big dream. Putting check sign on any particular dish gives me immense pleasure and few extra pounds on my waist.
I wanted to share one of that happy day for me with you guys and my trophy for the day is Baklava- Nuts Filled Flaky Multilayered Pastry sweetened with rose flavored Sugar Syrup.
Baklava is a Middle-Eastern dessert, famous all around world for its flaky, nutty, sweet and rich taste. Home made baklava tastes so good, its fresh, pastry is more flaky and crunchy and sweetness according to taste. It was in my list for really long, i have no idea why i didn’t try it before…its really easy and delicious.
- 1 box Phyllo Pastry Dough
- 1 cup Walnuts
- 1 cup Almonds
- 1 cup Butter, melted
- 1/4 cup crushed Pistachios for garnishing
- Sugar Syrup
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice
- (I used 1/2 tsp. Rose Water and 1 tsp. of Orange Blossom Water for extra flavor)
- haw phyllo sheets according to package instructions.
- Mix nuts and pulse them in food processor until coarsely ground.
- Boil sugar and water in a pan for sugar syrup.
- Add lemon juice and continue boiling syrup for more 10-12 minutes.
- Add rose water or orange blossom water for extra flavor.
- Preheat oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take a deep baking dish and butter the bottom and sides.
- Trim phyllo sheets to fit in to the baking dish.
- Place a phyllo sheet in a dish, butter it all over with a brush.
- Repeat the same process until you stack 15 sheets at the bottom of the dish.
- Spread half of the nut mixture over phyllo sheets.
- Add five more phyllo sheets brushing butter in between each sheets.
- Spread rest of the nut mixture over phyllo sheets
- Again, repeat stacking 15 more layers of buttered phyllo sheets.
- Cut Pastry diagonally in to diamond shapes.
- Pour rest of the melted butter over the phyllo sheets.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes until the top of the baklava are golden brown.
- Pour the sugar syrup on hot Baklava.
- Garnish with Pistachios.
- Set aside for few hours or preferably overnight.
- Enjoy the goodness of your hard-work.