Simple Homemade Hazelnut Baklava
"There is a few centuries long debate going on whether baklava is Greek or Turkish. I grew up eating Turkish baklava and this is the recipe my family loves the most. You will only need five ingredients if you use store bought phyllo dough. Just thaw the dough at room temperature for about 2 hours or better yet, leave in the fridge overnight. It’s very, very sweet dessert. Best served with strong Turkish coffee or black tea with a hint of cardamom or bergamot (Earl Grey or Lady Grey black tea)."
NotesTip: I leave a few nuts chopped for the top layer to add some garnish a-like.
Preparation Time15 min
Cooking Time25 min
Ingredients
- 1 package or 8 oz phyllo dough
- 2 cup chopped hazelnut (feel free to use less, I'm nuts addict)
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 3 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 cup honey
- 1 dash cardamom (optional)
- 1 cooking oil or spray to grease baking pan
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter the bottoms and sides of a pan. I use 9x13 inch as it's normally the exact size of phyllo dough sheets.
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Toss hazelnuts with a dash of cardamom.
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Place one sheet of the phyllo dough in pan, butter with brush thoroughly. This step insures delightful crispiness of the baklava layers. Repeat until you have six sheets layered. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the entire nut mixture on top. Top with five-six sheets of dough, buttering each one of them. Sprinkle with another 1/3 of nut mixture. Top with six-eight sheets buttered sheets again and sprinkle with remaining nuts.