Baklava Everyone gets all impressed when you say you made baklava. I'm sure it's because they've never made it and don't know how easy it is. You just need a very soft touch with the phyllo dough leaves! Ingredients 1 lb Walnuts, finely chopped (food processor works well) 1/2 cup sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), melted 1 package frozen phyllo dough (16 oz), thawed in fridge 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice 1 cup honey (12 oz) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Like Baking with Tissue Paper Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine the walnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside in a bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom and sides of a jelly roll pan with melted butter. The original recipe calls for 15.5"x10.5"x1", but I used a 13"x9"x2" and it was fine. Open the phyllo dough carefully. Take one leaf (sheet), and lay it in the pan. The edges will stick out, that's okay. Butter the leaf thoroughly with the pastry brush. Repeat with five more leaves, for 6 layers total. Spread on one cup of the walnut mixture. Cut the remaining phyllo dough in half the short way. Lay down one sheet in the lower left corner of the pan (it probably won't cover the entire layer, that's okay). Butter thoroughly. Lay the next sheet in the lower right corner, butter thoroughly. Repeat in the upper right and lower left corners, then do one more round of four layers, for a total of eight layers buttering after each sheet. Spread one more cup of the walnut mixture. Repeat the 8 sheets and walnut mixture two more times. This will leave you with four layers of nuts in your creation. Layer the remaining half sheets on top, working in a circle like above. Butter after adding each sheet. Brush the top with any remaining butter, and trim off any edges that stick out. Cut halfway through the layers in this pattern: Do NOT cut from corner to corner! And you must cut now, instead of after baking, because the baklava is very fragile after baking. Bake for an hour or until golden brown. You Saucy Thing 15 minutes before the baklava comes out of the oven, combine the 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add honey and vanilla, stir until well blended. Seems Messy Take the baklava from the oven, cut the rest of the way through the layers. Pour the sauce over the baklava. Cool. Let it sit, lightly covered, for at least 24 hours. (Don't store it in the fridge.) It's best if you let it rest for about a week in a cool place before serving. Notes and Hints and Stuff Where do I get Phyllo Dough? I got it at a Greek Deli, but I've also seen it in the frozen dessert section of the grocery store, like where you'd find pie crusts. Don't use puff pastry. How do you serve it? It works well to put pieces in muffin cups. Or just let people dig in with their fingers, whatever works.