Baklava

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 cups cane sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2½ cups chopped walnuts
• 2½ cups chopped pistachios
• 1 cup orange blossom honey
• 1 package phyllo dough, thawed completely
• cinnamon, to taste
• canola oil, for brushing phyllo dough

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and move a rack to the center.
2. Start with making a simple syrup. Bring water and sugar to a rolling boil.
3. Reduce by one-third to one-half, adding lemon juice as the syrup boils.
4. Remove the syrup from heat and let cool to room temperature.
5. Combine the chopped nuts and place them into a deep heavy-bottom pot and place over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. (You want to toast the nuts slightly before adding honey and cinnamon. A good rule of thumb is: if you can smell the nuts, they’re toasted. You want to be careful not to over-toast them because they’ll be baking for another 45 minutes in the oven.)
6. Once the nuts are toasted, add honey and cinnamon. Stir together until it’s a sticky paste. Set aside.
7. Brush canola oil on the bottom of a 13" x 9" pan and start layering phyllo dough, one sheet at a time. Remember to brush each sheet (or every two sheets) with canola oil. However many sheets your phyllo dough package contains, you should use half the sheets for the bottom of the baklava and the other half for the top of your baklava.
8. Once you’ve finished the bottom section of the baklava, add the nut mixture and continue layering phyllo dough sheets for the top section. The thickness of the nut mixture is up to you, but a good reference point is the thickness of your pinky finger. You may have some unused nut mixture left over. We call that a snack!
9. After you finish layering, brush canola oil on your top-most sheet and use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into squares or a diamond pattern.
10. Bake in the middle the oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
11. As soon you remove the baklava from the oven, spoon your now-cooled simple syrup into all the cuts you made, including the outer edges. You’ll probably have some syrup left over and the sizzle you’ll hear makes this trip worthwhile.
12. Don’t blame us if your kitchen smells like the heavens.
13. Let cool and serve!

• Instead of making your own simple syrup, try an Amoretti Syrups to drizzle over the baklava. Great flavors to try are: Orange Blossom, Rose, Fiori di Sicilia, or Rock Candy.
• If you can’t find chopped walnuts and pistachios, you can use a food processor and chop them yourself. You’re looking for small-to-medium size pistachios and walnuts.
• Fresh lemon juice helps the simple syrup to thicken.