Easy Baklava

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 5 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 teaspoons ground cloves
• 3 cups walnuts, coarsly chopped
• 1 lb sweet unsalted butter, melted
• 1 lb phyllo pastry sheet
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• orange peel, 3-inch strip
• lemon peel, 3-inch strip
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 2 in a medium bowl, mix the cinnamon, clove & walnuts together. set aside.
• 3 brush the bottom of a 12x20 baking dish with butter.
• 4 place one pastry sheet in the dish & brush it with butter. repeat this process so that 6 pastry sheets line the bottom of the dish.
• 5 tip: i pour my lukewarm butter in a spray bottle & mist the butter over the phyllo sheets. it prevents tearing & goes by so much quicker! make sure you buy a misting bottle, not one that just streams -- it will make a big mess!
• 6 sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture over top of the pastry sheets. repeat this process so there are 3 layers of the nut mixture & 4 layers of the 6 buttered pastry sheets.
• 7 cut the baklava into diamond shapes (making parallel horizontal lines in the dish & making diagonal lines vertically in the dish).
• 8 bake baklava for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
• 9 while cooking, heat the sugar, water, orange peel, lemon peel & cinnamon stick to a boil & then simmer for 5 minutes.
• 10 add honey and bring mixture to a boil.
• 11 remove pan from heat and add lemon juice.
• 12 stir together and set aside to cool.
• 13 remove lemon peel, orange peel and cinnamon stick.
• 14 spread the cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava.
• 15 cover with a dish towel and let sit for one hour before serving.