Greek Baklava with Walnuts and Pistachios (Printable)
Buttery phyllo layers with spiced nuts soaked in fragrant honey syrup for a classic Mediterranean sweet treat.
# What You'll Need:
→ Nut Filling
01 - 7 cups walnuts, finely chopped
02 - 3 1/2 cups pistachios, finely chopped
03 - 1 3/4 cups almonds, finely chopped
04 - 2 tsp ground cinnamon
05 - 1/4 tsp ground cloves
06 - 2 tbsp granulated sugar
→ Pastry
07 - 14 oz phyllo dough (about 20 sheets), thawed if frozen
08 - 7 oz unsalted butter, melted
→ Honey Syrup
09 - 1 cup granulated sugar
10 - 3/4 cup water
11 - 2/3 cup honey
12 - 1 cinnamon stick
13 - 3 strips lemon peel
# Steps:
01 - Preheat the oven to 340°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with a little melted butter.
02 - In a bowl, combine walnuts, pistachios, almonds, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. Mix well until evenly distributed.
03 - Unroll the phyllo dough and cover with a lightly damp cloth to prevent drying out while you work.
04 - Place one sheet of phyllo in the baking dish and brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat with 7 more sheets, brushing each layer with butter for a total of 8 sheets.
05 - Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo base.
06 - Add 4 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter. Sprinkle another 1/3 of the nut mixture evenly across the surface.
07 - Add another 4 sheets of phyllo, each brushed with butter. Sprinkle the remaining nut mixture evenly over the layer.
08 - Complete with the remaining 4 sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter. Brush the top generously with melted butter.
09 - Using a sharp knife, cut the assembled baklava completely through into diamond or square shapes before baking.
10 - Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown and crisp throughout.
11 - While baklava bakes, combine sugar, water, honey, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, and discard cinnamon stick and lemon peel.
12 - As soon as baklava comes out of the oven, slowly pour the warm syrup evenly over the entire surface. Allow to cool completely before serving to let the syrup fully absorb.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The contrast between crisp phyllo and syrup soaked layers is absolutely worth the patience
- It keeps getting better over a few days as the honey works its magic through every layer
02 -
- Hot baklava needs cool syrup and vice versa or the texture turns soggy instead of crisp
- Cutting through all layers before baking prevents the phyllo from shattering into jagged pieces later
03 -
- Work quickly with phyllo because it dries out faster than you expect
- Clear off counter space before you start this recipe needs room