Baklava!

One of my 2 favorite desserts is baklava, it's buttery, sweet, nutty and expensive! Three dollars for one triangle! Are you kidding me? So I decided how hard can it be to make? I had everything but the phyllo dough, well let me tell you it was a little time consuming but well worth it and a whole lot cheaper. I froze half of it ( It mad 15 whole squares!) They were just as good or maybe even better. The only hard parts was trying not to tear the phyllo dough and cutting it . Here is the recipe. Enjoy!


1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped nuts
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla, lemon zest and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.