BAKLAVA

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.Its a Greek or turkish favorite that makes everyone think you are a master chef and is sooo easy to make!!The phyllo or Filo dough for this recipe is found in the freezer section of most grocery stores.Almonds,pistachios and walnuts are excellent for this recipe.Working with phyllo needs a lot of patience becoz they are fragile and break so easily but its ok if they tear up.There are lot of hints to make this dessert a great success.Below are some of the useful tips:-

TIP 1:Get all the ingredients ready before you begin .
TIP 2:phyllo sheets tend to dry quickly so it has to be covered with damp cloth when not in use.
TIP 3:Make the sauce ahead and cool completely.Its either way :Pour HOT SYRUP over COOLED BAKLAVA or COOLED SYRUP over WARM BAKLAVA.
TIP 4:Never cover you baked baklava as it gets soggy.Store at room temperature

INGREDIENTS:
1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1-1/2 cup butter
For Filling:
1 pound chopped nuts(I prefer almonds ,pistachios and walnuts)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

for the syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside.
Unroll phyllo sheets. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work.
Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows then make the diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.

Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool.Sprinkle with coarsely ground pistachios for garnish. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Wishing all my fellow cooking enthusiasts a very Happy and Wonderful
NEW YEAR!!!!