European Recipe | Pistachio-Walnut Baklava

Spiced nuts are layered between buttered sheets of phyllo pastry and baked into this crispy, flaky delicacy saturated with an orange blossom-infused honey syrup.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup white sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups unsalted roasted pistachio nuts, finely chopped
• 2 cups unsalted roasted walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen phyllo pastry sheets, thawed
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 cup honey
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a9x-13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and cloves in a small bowl. Mix pistachios and walnuts together in a separate bowl.
3. Unroll phyllo sheets on a damp towel on a cutting board and cover with a second damp towel to keep them from drying out. Brush parchment paper with melted butter and place 1 phyllo sheet on top. Brush the sheet with butter and layer another sheet on top. Continue layering until you have used about 1/3 of the phyllo, brushing butter between each layer. Sprinkle 1/2 of spiced sugar and nuts on top.
4. Continue layering another 1/3 of the phyllo sheets using the same method; sprinkle on remaining spiced sugar and nuts. Layer on the remaining 1/3 of the phyllo sheets and brush the top with butter. Fold over any overhanging phyllo dough and brush with butter to seal the edges.
5. Cut slashes 2 inches apart into the dough, then diagonally across to form 2-inch diamonds.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, 30 to 35 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, make the honey syrup. Combine water, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, honey, lemon juice, and orange blossom water in a small sauce pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the temperature, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until baklava finishes baking.
8. Immediately pour the hot honey syrup over the baklava and let sit until syrup is completely absorbed, 4 hours to overnight. Cut into diamond pieces following the scores made before baking. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

• calories304.9
• carbohydrateContent32.3 g
• cholesterolContent20.3 mg
• fatContent18.9 g
• fiberContent2.3 g
• proteinContent5 g
• saturatedFatContent6.2 g
• sodiumContent189.8 mg
• sugarContent18.9 g