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Homemade Baklava for the Holidays

Course Dessert

Ingredients

  • 3 cups Walnuts - shelled and finely chopped
  • 1 cup almonds - shelled and finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves
  • 1/3 cup Sugar
  • 2 pkgs. Kontos® Fillo #5 - approx. 28 pieces
  • 1/4 cup Butter - melted
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 3 cups Water
  • 1/2 Lemon - juice
  • 1 Lemon - rind
  • 3 cloves - whole
  • 1 cinnamon stick - small

Instructions

Baklava

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl.
  • Center one Fillo sheet in a 9x13-inch pan, and brush with butter.
  • Cover with another Fillo sheet and brush with butter. Repeat for 3 more sheets.
  • Sprinkle 4-5 tablespoons of nut mixture over Fillo layers.
  • Cover nut mixture with 2 sheets, individually buttered.
  • Repeat Steps 5 & 6 until you have 3 sheets of Fillo remaining.
  • Layer and butter last 3 sheets on top.
  • With a spatula or the back of a knife push overlapping Fillo sheets down the inside of the pan and under the buttered Fillo sheets.
  • Butter the top Fillo sheet and deeply score. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Syrup

  • Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a boil for approximately 10 minutes.
  • Add lemon juice, lemon rind, cloves, and cinnamon stick and boil for an additional 20 minutes.
  • Strain and pour hot mixture over cooled Fillo and nut layers.
  • Allow syrup to soak into Fillo then cut all the way through.