Baklava! Baklava is a layered dessert made of filo pastry sheets (not puffed pastry!), filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It’s a buttery, flaky and super sweet dessert that I absolutely love eating! It’s a dessert from Greece/Turkey (where it originates from is still up for debate) and it’s absolutely delicious!
The first time I ever ate it was at a little hole-in-the-wall falafel place in NYC. A friend I was with told me I had to try it and my mind was blown. Ever since then, I would always get it whenever I would buy my falafel sandwiches, even here in Florida!
This past weekend, Trevor and I decided to make it together for a family gathering and when I tell you it was a successful hit… it was a SUCCESSFUL HIT! Everyone gobbled it up. And here I thought I’d have leftovers – ha!
I’ll warn you that this is very time consuming to make but you do get a lot from it. It’s not the healthiest either – lots of butter! But as a dynamite sweet treat, it is definitely worth it!
What’s your favorite sweet to bake? I’d love to know in the comments below! Happy baking!
Homemade Pistachio Baklava
Ingredients
Simple Syrup:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Baklava:
- 3 cups pistachios
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 package frozen phyllo dough (about 1 pound), thawed according to package directions
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, melted
Directions
- For the simple syrup: Put the sugar and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until the syrup has thickened a bit, about 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and simmer for 2 more minutes. Set the syrup aside to cool completely.
- For the baklava: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pistachios and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse, stopping every few pulses to scrape down the sides, until finely chopped. Be careful not to over-process into pistachio butter.
- To assemble the baklava: Unroll the phyllo sheets and cover them with a kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Brush the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan with the butter and add 1 phyllo sheet. If your phyllo sheets are larger than the pan, simply fold them; there is no need to cut them. Brush with butter and top with another phyllo sheet. Repeat until you’ve layered about a third of the phyllo sheets and each sheet is brushed with butter. Sprinkle half of the pistachio mixture on top, then layer on another third of the phyllo sheets one by one, brushing each sheet with butter. Top with the remaining pistachio filling. Finish with the remaining phyllo sheets, brushing each sheet, including the top one, with butter.
- Cut the pastry diagonally and then into strips to make diamond shapes. Alternatively, you can cut them into 24 squares. Pour the remaining butter evenly over the baklava.
- Bake until the top is crispy and golden, about 1 hour. Immediately pour the cool syrup evenly over the baklava. Let sit at room temperature until cooled completely and the syrup has soaked in, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Season Generously 