In pan:



Out of pan:



General Comments:

“Amazing.”

That was the general reaction of those who got a chance to try a bit of this baklava. This recipe received some of the most positive feedback out of everything I’ve made, despite being completely devoid of chocolate (which has been a component of most everything I’ve done).

The cinnamon component was strong, but not overpowering. The pistachios were excellent as the nut component of the baklava, much better than any baklava I’ve had made with other nuts. Honestly, if I ever have the motivation to make baklava again, there is little chance I will test out any other recipes unless I’m specifically seeking to expand my baklava making repertoire. It was that good.

Baker’s notes:

For a very brief moment, I considered trying to make the phyllo dough myself. Then I looked up some recipes and read the directions and realized that it probably wouldn’t be good for my mental health if I went down that path, at least not yet. As it was, simply working with the store-bought phyllo dough brought forth a fair number of expletives during the assembly process. So, be prepared to exercise some patience with this one and keep in mind that each individual phyllo dough layer need not be perfect -- it simply won’t matter in the end.

A somewhat nit-picky note is that I think I could have chopped up the pistachios into slightly smaller chunks as some of them were still relatively large. This particular detail is probably a personal preference type of thing.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 8 tablespoons sugar, divided
2/3 cup honey
1 cup water
2 cinnamon sticks
12 ounces shelled pistachios, toasted (scant 3 cups)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
18 14×9-inch sheets fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed (from one 16-ounce package)

Directions:

• Simmer 2 cups sugar, honey, water and cinnamon sticks in saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil over medium heat until reduced to approximately 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Cool syrup.
• Place nuts and 2 tablespoons sugar in processor. Using on/off turns, process until most of nuts are finely ground (the largest pieces should be the size of small peas). Mix nuts, 6 tablespoons sugar, and cinnamon in medium bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with some of melted butter. Place 1 phyllo sheet folded over on bottom of dish. Brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat 5 more times with phyllo and melted butter. Sprinkle half of pistachio mixture (about 1 1/2 cups) evenly over phyllo. Place 1 phyllo sheet (folded over) over nuts; brush lightly with butter. Repeat 5 more times with phyllo sheets and melted butter. Sprinkle remaining pistachio mixture evenly over. Place 1 phyllo sheet atop nuts folded in half; brush with butter. Repeat 5 more times with phyllo sheets and melted butter.
• Using sharp knife, cut diagonally through top phyllo layer from top left corner to bottom right corner. Cut top layer of phyllo into 1-inch-wide rows parallel to both sides of first cut. Turn pan and cut rows about 2 1/4 inches wide, forming diamond pattern.
• Bake baklava until golden brown and crisp, 50 to 55 minutes. Drizzle syrup evenly over hot baklava. Cool in pan on rack. Recut baklava along lines all the way through layers.

Credit: Followed this recipe.

Tags: honey, cinnamon, baklava, recipe, phyllo dough, pistachios

General Comments:

These were super simple to make. Had I been feeling more ambitious, I probably would have tried to make the puff pastry myself, but instead I just used Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, which actually cooks up pretty nicely. Additionally, I would have preferred to use Fluff, but unfortunately I had to settle for marshmallow creme (some of you will understand the difference). I also did 6 of them with dark chocolate and 6 of them with milk chocolate. Feedback from coworkers seemed to suggest that it was entirely personal preference which determined the better option, so if you try these out, do whatever sounds good. My final comment is that the peanut butter can easily become the dominant flavor if you get carried away with how much you tuck away inside the pastry, but that’s only a problem if you don’t love peanut butter -- I happen to enjoy it thoroughly.

Baker’s Notes:

First, make sure to cut the small slits in the tops of the turnovers to allow steam to vent. I forgot to do so on the second batch of 6 and it resulted in a higher fraction of turnovers that ruptured and allowed some of the peanut butter to escape.

Second, if you don’t plan on serving and eating the turnovers right away, I suggest that you only apply the marshmallow creme at the time of serving. When I first applied the marshmallow it was plump and fluffy -- as can be seen in the picture. However, once I let the turnovers cool completely and put them in an airtight container, the marshmallow decided to liquify. When I returned to them the following morning, a large fraction of the marshmallow had run off. This left the turnovers with more of a marshmallow “glaze” than the nice topping that can be seen in the photo.

Recipe:

Prep work: Preheat over to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Ingredients

1 box Puff Pastry (2 sheets), thawed
3 whole graham crackers, gently broken into fourths
Small milk chocolate bars (Hershey’s .49 oz. bars work pretty well. If you use these, you’ll need 9)
½ cup creamy peanut butter
small bowl of water (for dampening the puff pastry)
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp. water (to make egg wash)
½ cup jarred Marshmallow Creme (or Fluff)

Directions

• Lay Puff Pastry on cutting board. Working with one sheet of Puff Pastry at a time, cut on three folds, creating 3 rectangles (about 3″ x 10″ each). Cut each 3 x 10 rectangle in half. You’ll have 6 pieces to work with for each sheet of Puff Pastry.
• Assemble turnovers: Lay graham cracker on 1/2 of each square, top with chocolate that has been cut down to match the length of the graham cracker. Scoop a scant 1 Tbsp. peanut butter on top of each chocolate bar. (If using the .49 oz Hershey’s bar, you’ll want to use 3 sections worth for each turnover)
• Working with one turnover at a time, wet edges of Puff Pastry and fold (over) in half to meet opposite edges. Gently push edges together to stick; use fork to seal edges together and create ridged pattern. Repeat with each turnover until all are sealed up. Gently move sealed turnovers to baking sheet with a small spatula. (At this point, the turnovers may be refrigerated for up to an hour before baking -- cover baking sheet with plastic wrap. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and continue with instructions).
• Brush turnovers lightly with egg wash, then use a sharp knife to cut two small slits into the top of each turnover.
• Bake 15 minutes, or until turnovers are puffed and golden. Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes. Scoop marshmallow creme into a zip baggie (don’t zip). Microwave for 8 seconds to soften. Zip bag and snip a small piece off of the corner of the bag. Drizzle marshmallow onto the top of each turnover. Serve immediately.

Credit: Very slightly modified version of this recipe.

Tags: recipe, marshmallow, peanut butter, chocolate, pastry