Thomas Josephs Baklava Recipes

CHRISTMAS BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan.
• Stir the pecans, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl until evenly blended. Drizzle in the honey and vanilla, mixing well.
• Place the brown sugar substitute, white sugar substitute, evaporated milk, and butter in a pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens, 12 to 15 minutes. Gradually stir in the pecan mixture. Remove from heat.
• Unroll 3 sheets of phyllo and place in the prepared baking pan. Dust lightly with flour. Spoon a thin layer of the pecan-sugar mixture over the phyllo sheets. Cover with 3 more phyllo sheets, dust with flour, and spoon the pecan-sugar mixture over the phyllo. Repeat three more times ending with phyllo sheets on top, and using all the phyllo and pecan-sugar mixture to make a stack about 1 inch high.
• Bake in preheated oven until top is golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely before dusting with confectioners' sugar, and cutting into 2 inch squares.

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• 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 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.

THOMAS JOSEPH'S BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, mix together nuts, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon rose water, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon; set aside.
• Place remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/4 cups water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining tablespoon rose water and return to a boil; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let syrup cool completely.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with clarified butter. Carefully layer half of the phyllo dough in the baking dish, brushing between each layer with clarified butter. Sprinkle nut mixture over top and continue layering remaining phyllo dough over nut mixture, brushing between each layer with clarified butter.
• Brush top layer generously with butter. Using a sharp knife with a very thin blade (such as a boning knife), score baklava into 1 1/2-inch-wide diamond-shaped pieces, cutting through all of the phyllo layers.
• Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, about 50 minutes more. Remove from oven and pour syrup over baklava; let cool completely before serving.

THOMAS JOSEPH'S CLARIFIED BUTTER

Steps:

• Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Remove from heat and allow milk solids to sink to bottom. Skim any foam from surface, then carefully pour off clarified butter, leaving solids behind.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Mix together the walnuts, sugar, and spices and set aside.
• As you work, keep the sheets of phyllo covered with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the bottom of a jelly roll pan (12-inch x16-inch). Brush the dough lightly with melted butter. Repeat this process until there are 8 sheets of phyllo in the pan.
• Sprinkle one-third of the nut mixture onto the phyllo sheets.
• Place 4 more sheets of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing melted butter between each sheet.
• Place another one-third of the nut mixture on the dough.
• Layer the remaining sheets of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing melted butter in between each sheet. Brush the top sheet with butter as well.
• Trim the edges so that they do not stand above the level of the dough.
• Cut the pastry into 2-inch squares, making sure not to slice through the bottom layer of phyllo dough. Leaving the bottom layer uncut will allow the syrup to soak in more efficiently.
• Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes or until the top layer of the phyllo takes on a light golden brown color.
• While the dough bakes prepare the syrup. Combine all of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Remove the clove and lemon peel.
• Remove the pan from the oven and immediately pour hot syrup over the baklava.
• Before serving allow the baklava to stand at room temperature until cooled. Slice through the bottom layer of phyllo dough and serve.