Lemon Vanilla And Honey Baklava Recipes

EASY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.
• Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes.
• While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon or orange zest; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered.

BAKLAVA WITH LEMON-HONEY SYRUP

Steps:

• Syrup: In a small saucepan, stir together sugar, honey, 3/4 cup water, zest and juice, corn syrup, and cinnamon sticks. Heat over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and cook, without stirring, until syrup thickens slightly and registers 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Let cool completely; discard zest and cinnamon sticks. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.) Syrup can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.
• Filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, finely grind all nuts. Add sugar, cinnamon, and salt; pulse just to combine. Transfer to a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Trim phyllo sheets to just fit inside baking dish(each about 8 1/2 by 12 1/2 inches). Lay phyllo flat on a work surface; cover with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying out. Place a sheet in prepared dish; brush generously with melted butter. Repeat with 6 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter before laying down next. Spread 1 cup filling evenly over top, then top with 5 more phyllo sheets, buttering each layer. Spread 1 cup fillingover top, followed by 5 morebuttered phyllo sheets. Spreadremaining filling over phyllo; finishwith 7 buttered phyllo sheets.
• Using a long, sharp knife, cut lengthwise all the way through layers at 2-inch intervals. Makediagonal cuts across strips to form 2-inch diamonds, again cutting all the way through layers. Pierce each diamond with a whole clove.
• Using your fingers, lightly sprinkle top of pastry with cold water (to prevent curling). Bake, rotating dish once, until baklava is deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and recut through all lines. Pour syrup over top, saturating fully; let cool at least 4 hours beforeserving. Baklava can be covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature up to 1 week.

MOM'S BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the honey-citrus simple syrup: Whisk together the sugar, honey, water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the orange peel and continue to boil without stirring, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat to cool while you assemble the baklava. The syrup will thicken as it cools.
• For the nut filling: Add the pistachios and walnuts to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer the nuts to a large bowl along with the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. Set aside.
• To assemble: Brush a 9-by-13-inch pan with some of the melted butter. Unroll the whole package of phyllo and cut it in half to fit the pan or trim to fit flat. (As you work, cover the unused phyllo sheets with wax paper underneath a damp clean kitchen towel.) Lay 1 sheet of phyllo in the bottom of the pan. Brush with butter, covering the entire surface, then lay another sheet of phyllo on top. Repeat this process until you have 10 layers of phyllo, with butter brushed on top. Add half of the nut mixture, spreading it evenly over the buttered surface, then gently press in with your hands. Begin layering the phyllo and melted butter until you have 10 more layers of phyllo, with butter brushed on top. Add the remaining nut mixture, then layer 10 more sheets of phyllo, brushing with butter in between layers. Brush the top with melted butter, then score the phyllo dough into diamonds, cutting about 1/4-inch deep. (Cut 4 strips lengthwise, then diagonal cuts for a diamond shape).
• Bake until puffed and golden brown on top, about 1 hour. Ladle the cooled syrup over the top, allowing it to absorb in between pours. Allow the baklava to sit until the syrup is completely absorbed, at least 30 minutes. Separate into bars and serve. The baklava freezes very well.

HONEY BAKLAVA CUPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• In the work bowl of a food processor, combine walnuts, pecans, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves.
• Pulse until nuts are almost ground.
• Place phyllo cups on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Brush inside of shells with melted butter.
• Spoon nut mixture evenly into phyllo cups.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until nuts are golden brown.
• Let cool for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make syrup--in a small saucepan, combine water, sugar, orange slices, lemon slices, and cinnamon stick.
• Bring to a boil over med-high heat.
• Decrease heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Strain mixture, discarding solids.
• Stir honey into sugar mixture.
• Let cool for 10 minutes.
• Place cooled baklava cups in paper liners.
• Spoon Honey Citrus Syrup evenly over each baklava cup.
• Let stand for 2 hours.

LEMON, VANILLA AND HONEY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Trim phyllo sheets to fit the pan you will be using (9x13) or a rectangular pan with a similar capacity, with 2.5" sides. (Don't use a nonstick pan--it will get ruined when you cut out the baklava.) Keep phyllo sheets covered with a slightly damp towel.
• In a bowl, stir together the butter/margarine and the oil. Drizzle a few tablespoons on the pan bottom. Center 1 sheet phyllo on the bottom of the pan. Brush generously with butter and oil. Continue layering phyllo sheets, brushing each generously, for a total of 8 sheets.
• Sprinkle 1/3 of the nuts over the top.
• Continue layering phyllo leaves this way, sprinkling with nuts after another 8 sheets, then 4 more leaves, more nuts, and the remaining leaves, always brushing each sheet generously before you place the next one in the pan.
• Brush the top layer with the butter/oil mixture. Using kitchen scissors or a very sharp knife, cut the pastry into diamond shapes, cutting only halfway through the pastry. (Diamond shapes are achieved by cutting 5 or 6 horizontal rows, then cutting diagonally across these rows to form diamonds).
• Bake for 1 hour, or until pastry is golden brown. Meanwhile, make the syrup.
• To make syrup: In a saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients and heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature before pouring evenly over the pastry. Let the baklava sit for 1 hour or overnight before serving.