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Baklava

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Servings: 16
Calories: 170kcal

Ingredients

Nut Filling

  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup chopped almonds
  • 2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1T tsp ground cinnamon

Pastry

  • 12 sheets phyllo dough
  • 2 tablespoon margarine (I used Smart Balance)
  • butter flavored nonstick spray

Honey-Cinnamon Syrup

  • ½ cup honey
  • 2 tablespoon water
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 strip lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Make the nut filling

  • Put the nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times until the nuts are somewhat finely chopped.
  • Stir in the granulated sugar, cinnamon and toasted sesame seeds.
  • Set aside. This step can be done well in advance.

Assemble the pastry

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Lightly spray an 8x8-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
  • Take 12 sheets of phyllo pastry and cut them in half. You'll end up with 24 smaller sheets.
  • Lay 2 sheets of phyllo pastry in the bottom of the baking dish. Spritz lightly with butter-flavored nonstick spray.
  • Repeat. Lay 2 more sheets of phyllo pastry in the bottom of the baking dish. Spritz again with butter-flavored nonstick spray.
  • Repeat. Lay 2 more sheets of phyllo pastry in the baking dish. (Your pastry should now be 6 sheets deep.)
  • Sprinkle ⅓ of the nut mixture on top of the phyllo pastry.
  • Drizzle 2 teaspoons of margarine on top of the nut mixture (as evenly as you can get it; it won't be exactly even.)
  • Lay 2 more sheets of phyllo pastry on top of the nut mixture, and lightly spritz it with butter-flavored nonstick spray.
  • Repeat twice more. Again, you want your next layer of pastry to be 6 sheets deep.
  • Sprinkle the second third of the nut mixture on top, and drizzle with 2 more teaspoons of margarine.
  • Stack another 6 phyllo sheets, lightly spraying every other layer with nonstick spray. Sprinkle the remaining ⅓ of the nuts, and drizzle with margarine,
  • Lightly spray and stack the remaining 6 phyllo sheets.
  • Use a sharp knife to slice the pastry into 16 squares.
  • Place in the oven and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.

Make the syrup

  • While the pastry bakes in the oven, stir together the honey, water, lemon zest and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Bring the saucepan to a boil over medium-high heat.
  • When the honey mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low, and let the honey simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Remove the honey syrup from the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
  • When the pastry comes out of the oven, pour the syrup over the pastry right away.
  • Allow the pastry to cool before trying to eat it (it will be very hot.)