Fruit And Nut Baklava Recipes

HONEY NUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough by package instructions, you'll need both rolls as most packages have two rolls separately packaged.
• Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Unfold the sheet to a 20x26 size and cut in half making 2 9(ish)x13 portions. You can trim one stack at a time (or less) then cover with a damp towel to keep from drying out.

HONEY NUT & CREAM CHEESE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 13x9-in. baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar until blended. Stir in walnuts., Unroll phyllo dough; trim to fit into pan. Layer 20 sheets of phyllo in prepared pan, spritzing each with cooking spray. Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out., Spread with half of the walnut mixture. Layer with five more phyllo sheets, spritzing each with cooking spray. Spread remaining walnut mixture over phyllo. Top with remaining phyllo sheets, spritzing each with cooking spray., Cut into 1-1/2-in. diamonds. Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine water, honey and remaining sugar; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Pour over warm baklava., Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Refrigerate, covered, until serving.

BAKLAVA BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir walnuts, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the salt with fork until mixture is well mixed and crumbly.
• Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over partially baked base. With hands, crumble frozen phyllo shells evenly over nut mixture. Bake 18 to 20 minutes longer or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, microwave 1/3 cup honey, 2 tablespoons butter, the brown sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon uncovered on High 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir in vanilla.
• Drizzle honey mixture evenly over phyllo . Cool completely, about 2 hours.
• For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Before serving, drizzle 1/2 teaspoon honey over each bar. Store covered at room temperature.

MIXED NUT & HONEY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Place all the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan with 300ml of water and bring to a gentle simmer. Let it bubble away, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by a third. Leave to cool. (The syrup must be cool when it is poured over the pastry otherwise the pastry will go soggy.)
• Blitz the nuts in a food processor until coarse, then tip into a bowl and stir through the cinnamon and cloves.
• Melt the butter, using a little of it to lightly grease a 40 x 25cm shallow tin with a pastry brush. Gently unfold the filo and cover with a damp tea towel to stop it cracking.
• Layer sheets of filo in the tin and brush each layer with melted butter. After 4 layers, scatter over half the nut mixture; repeat with 4 layers of filo, then the rest of the nuts. Top with the last 4 layers of filo, then generously butter the top. Cut into diamonds with a sharp knife - ensure the blade goes right to the bottom.
• Bake on the middle shelf of the oven on a hot baking sheet for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, reducing the temperature to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3 if the baklava looks as though it is browning too quickly.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and spoon half the cooled syrup over the top. Leave for 5 minutes, then spoon over the remaining syrup. Allow the baklava to cool before removing the individual pieces from the dish with a palette knife.

FRUIT 'N' NUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Light grease a 9x13 baking dish or pan. Cut phyllo sheets in half crosswise to fit in pan. Cover phyllo with a lightly dampened tea towel to prevent drying out.
• Combine trail mix, dried fruits, sugar,and cinnamon in a food processor. Finely chop. Set aside.
• Gently lay a piece of phyllo pastry in pan and brush with melted butter. Repeat with 7 more sheets of phyllo. Brushing each sheet with melted butter.
• Sprinkle a thin layer of nuts and fruit mixture over phyllo, cover with 2 more sheets of phyllo pastry, brushing each sheet with butter. Repeat this of sprinkling the nut mixture, then 2 sheets of buttered phyllo pastry until all the nut mixture is used.
• Top with the final 8 individual buttered phyllo sheets. With a sharp knife, cut into 40 equal squares. Bake until edges are crisp and top is golden brown, 30-35 minutes.
• In a small saucepan, combine honey and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 7 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let cool.
• Spoon cooled syrup over hot baklava and let cool for at least 4 hours. Garnish with some finely chopped nuts, if desired.

FRUIT AND NUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine apricots, raisins and white wine and allow the fruit to soak for at least 2 hours
• Preheat over to 300 degrees
• Mix cashews, sugar and spices in a separate bowl
• Place a layer of phyllo into a 13x9 pan and brush with melted butter
• Repeat to make 5 layers
• As you work, keep the dough coveed with a damp towel
• Spread 1/4 of the fruit and nuts over the phyllo
• Repeat layers of phyllo and fruit/nuts ending with a layer of phyllo
• With a very sharp knife, slice through the top few layers in a diamond pattern
• Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour
• Warm honey in saucepan or in microwave
• Pour warmed honey over pastry and allow to soak inches
• Allow to cool and serve

CRANBERRY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Grease a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Layer six sheets of phyllo dough in dish, brushing each with butter. , In a bowl, combine the cranberries, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1-1/4 cups over top layer of phyllo. Layer and brush six sheets of dough with butter. Top with 1-1/4 cups cranberry mixture. Layer and brush six more sheets of dough with butter; top with remaining cranberry mixture. Top with remaining sheets of dough, brushing each sheet with butter. , Using a sharp knife, cut halfway through layers to make 24 pieces. Bake at 325° for 60-70 minutes or until golden brown., In a small saucepan, heat the honey over low heat just until warm and thin. Pour over warm baklava. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

APPLE-HONEY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Make the honey syrup: Combine the sugar, honey, orange zest, orange juice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a rapid simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and slowly simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let cool slightly. Remove the orange zest and reserve for the filling. Refrigerate the syrup until cold, at least 1 hour.
• Make the baklava: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the honey, cinnamon, salt and cloves; cook until the skillet is dry and the apples are sticky, 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Pulse the nuts in a food processor until finely chopped; transfer to a large bowl. Finely chop the reserved orange zest and add to the nuts. Add the apples and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and stir to combine.
• Melt the remaining 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan over low heat. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter. Unroll the phyllo dough onto a flat surface and cover with a damp towel. Lay 1 sheet of dough in the baking dish and lightly brush with some of the butter. (If there is a little excess phyllo just fold it over and brush lightly with more butter. If the sheet hangs out of the dish, trim to fit.) Sprinkle with some of the remaining 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs. Repeat the layering 5 more times (phyllo, butter, breadcrumbs). Scatter one-quarter of the apple-nut mixture on top.
• Layer 4 more sheets of phyllo on top, brushing with butter in between each; top with another one-quarter of the apple-nut mixture. Repeat this layering 2 more times (4 sheets of buttered phyllo, then one-quarter of the apple-nut mixture). Layer the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo on top, lightly brushing with butter in between each.
• Cut the baklava in half crosswise and lengthwise in the pan with a paring knife to make 4 quarters, cutting all the way through. Halve each quarter crosswise to make 8 rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 4 triangles. (You will end up with a total of 32 pieces.)
• Bake the baklava until golden and crisp, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven; immediately pour the honey syrup over the top. Let the syrup soak in completely while the baklava cools, at least 3 hours.