phyllo dough
Honey Cinnamon Pistachio Baklava
Jun 26, 2011 15:43 Filed in: Pastries
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:
Credit: Followed this recipe.
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.
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