Baklava

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I learned to make baklava in fourth grade, when I was in 4H and one of our mothers was a gourmet cook. In graduate school, I brought a pan in to my department and Muawia, our resident expert on all things seismological and all things sweet and baked, told me it was a little too sweet. He gave me an A-. I reduced the sugar and honey, tried again, and earned my A+.

Ingredients

1 lb. phyllo pastry (sheets)
1 cup butter, melted
4 cups walnuts (can be substituted with pecans)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Syrup
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
2-inch lemon peel
2-inch orange peel
3/4 cup honey

Instructions

Unless you make your own phyllo dough (in which case, I bow to you!), you will probably find it in the frozen food section of your store. There are two ways to defrost your phyllo dough so that you don't end up ripping it to shreds later: 1) defrost the whole box in the refrigerator for 24 hours or 2) defrost the whole box at room temperature for at least 4 hours. Both methods require planning. When your phyllo is sufficiently defrosted, remove it from the packaging and carefully unfold it to full sheet.

Keep your phyllo from drying out by laying a damp (but not wet!) towel over it.

Chop the walnuts in a food processor to a rough crumb texture.

Mix walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon together. Set aside.

Brush the bottom of a 9x13 pan with melted butter.

Carefully peel one sheet of phyllo from the stack and lay it on a marble board or suitable work surface.

If you have the giant phyllo sheets, then you will need to butter one half, carefully fold the sheet over, and butter the top. That counts as two sheets. Otherwise, if you were fortunate enough to find the smaller sheets (about 9x13) then you just butter the top.

Lay 8 layers of phyllo into the pan.

Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the nut mixture over the phyllo evenly. Then butter and layer two more layers of phyllo on top. Repeat until filling is done.

Finish with 8 layers of buttered phyllo just as you did at the start.

Use a sharp knife to cut diamond slices to the bottom of the pan. The dough will move, so secure it as you cut. Bake at 300 degrees F for an hour and 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash the lemon and orange and cut the peel.

Boil the water, sugar, peels, and cinnamon in a pot for 15 minutes.

Add the honey and let boil for two more minutes (watch it carefully, it can boil over quickly). Remove from heat and remove solid items (cinnamon and peels) from the syrup.

When the baklava is done, remove it from the oven and pour the syrup evenly over the hot baklava.

	Unless you make your own phyllo dough (in which case, I bow to you!), you will probably find it in the frozen food section of your store. There are two ways to defrost your phyllo dough so that you don't end up ripping it to shreds later: 1) defrost the whole box in the refrigerator for 24 hours or 2) defrost the whole box at room temperature for at least 4 hours. Both methods require planning. When your phyllo is sufficiently defrosted, remove it from the packaging and carefully unfold it to full sheet.
	Keep your phyllo from drying out by laying a damp (but not wet!) towel over it.
	Chop the walnuts in a food processor to a rough crumb texture.
	Mix walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
	Brush the bottom of a 9x13 pan with melted butter.
	Carefully peel one sheet of phyllo from the stack and lay it on a marble board or suitable work surface.
	If you have the giant phyllo sheets, then you will need to butter one half, carefully fold the sheet over, and butter the top. That counts as two sheets. Otherwise, if you were fortunate enough to find the smaller sheets (about 9x13) then you just butter the top.
	Lay 8 layers of phyllo into the pan.
	Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the nut mixture over the phyllo evenly. Then butter and layer two more layers of phyllo on top. Repeat until filling is done.
	Finish with 8 layers of buttered phyllo just as you did at the start.
	Use a sharp knife to cut diamond slices to the bottom of the pan. The dough will move, so secure it as you cut. Bake at 300 degrees F for an hour and 25 minutes.
	Meanwhile, wash the lemon and orange and cut the peel.
	Boil the water, sugar, peels, and cinnamon in a pot for 15 minutes.
	Add the honey and let boil for two more minutes (watch it carefully, it can boil over quickly). Remove from heat and remove solid items (cinnamon and peels) from the syrup.
	When the baklava is done, remove it from the oven and pour the syrup evenly over the hot baklava.