photo credit to Food Thinkers Recipes
Ingredients: 16 oz filo dough (or "phyllo;" not sure why there are two spellings, can anyone enlighten me?), room temperature *Keep in mind it takes about 2 hours to thaw completely
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
4 cups walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup honey
Zest of one orange (Some people use lemon zest, but I love the taste of the orange!)
Directions: *40 layers of pure yumminess*
First, mix chopped walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon in medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
Photo credit to Jeremy Carlisle
*Note: Keep filo dough covered with a slightly damp cloth at all times when not being used to keep it from drying out*
Carefully peel one sheet from stack of filo dough (it tears and rips very easily, so be very gentle) and place in bottom of ungreased 13x9 pan (don't use a non-stick pan because you'll need to cut these later and can scratch the pan). Brush very lightly with melted butter. Be careful here because you don't want to drench the filo. Continue this for 10-12 sheets. Cut away any filo that has "mounted" on side of pan. You don't want the build-up. It will cook unevenly and not look as pretty on final product.
Photo credit to Jeremy Carlisle
Next, evenly sprinkle 1/3 of the walnut mixture on top of the layered filo dough (approximately 1 1/2 cups). On the next layer of filo, you'll use 8-10 sheets, lightly buttering in between each. Top with 1/3 of the walnut mixture. Add another 8-10 sheets, buttering in between each. Top with the last third of the walnut mixture. Your top layer will be as thick as the first: 10-12 sheets, buttered in between each.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. To cut the baklava, score the top to approximately 1/4" thickness in a diamond pattern. The way I do this is cut straight across the width of the pan in 2" sections.Then cut diagonally matching the corners on the top of the pan with the corner of the bottom. That sounds confusing! See picture. (I'm still not very good at this, don't worry, but it gets easier with practice :) And no matter how it's cut, it will still taste delicious! Once the baklava is scored, bake at 300 for 60-70 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat honey and orange zest over low heat until warm. Cut baklava according to your guide. Pour honey mixture evenly over cooled baklava. Serve hot or cold. Enjoy!
P.S. Sorry for lack of pictures to go along with the instruction...was in a little bit of a hurry. Next time I make this I'll take lots! :)
