Baklawa

Baklawa

Ingredients:

3 cups of ground walnuts
1 cup of ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
Orange blossom water
1 box of Athens phyllo (fillo) dough sheets
3 sticks of butter, melted

For the syrup:
1 ½ cup sugar
1 ½ cup water
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons of orange blossom water

Directions:

In a food processor, grind the walnuts and the almonds coarsely. Pour the ground walnuts and almonds in a bowl. Add cinnamon and sugar. Mix with your hands until well blended together. Then, slowly add small amounts of orange blossom water and rake through the mixture with your fingers, just until the mixture is dampened, but not too wet. Leave aside.

Then, butter a 12 by 17 inch rectangular baking pan with some of the melted butter. Divide the phyllo sheets into two equal piles. Layer one pile of the phyllo sheets in the pan, buttering generously between each sheet with a pastry brush or with your own hands. Spread the walnut mixture on top of the first half of phyllo sheets. Repeat the same procedure with the second pile of phyllo sheets.

Cut baklawa lengthwise into equal sections (make sure they are small sections!) and then cut diagonally to form diamonds. (You can cut it into pretty much any shape you want). Dip your knife into hot water as you go for easier cutting, and make sure you cut all the way to the bottom of the pan.

Pour over any remaining butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for about half an hour. After 25 minutes, put it on top oven rack, so that it will brown from the top.

For the syrup:
Mix sugar and water together and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes. Remove syrup from heat, add orange blossom water and honey. Stir and let cool. As soon as you take the baklawa out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup on top and allow it to seep and saturate it well.