Today my guest poster is Melissa of Melissa Likes To Eat. Enjoy!
Hello BigFatBaker readers! My name is Melissa and I blog over at Melissa Likes To Eat.
I’m a 35 year old mom of two living in San Diego. I’m always trying to find a balance between my favorite pastime (food) and health/exercise. It’s a constant challenge but one I enjoy!
I actually post my weight every day on the blog to stay accountable to myself. As much as I try to eat healthy, I enjoy splurges every now and then. And when I splurge, I like to do it right!
I bring you a recipe that helps you splurge in just the right way!
Homemade Baklava!
I know what you’re thinking. It looks like it would be too difficult to make. Why waste time making your own when you can just buy it?
Let me put your fears to rest. No, it’s not hard to make. Yes, it’s a bit time consuming but it is totally worth it when you taste the finished product!
Helpful hints: When I buy phyllo dough, I keep it in the freezer until I’m ready to use it. Then put it in the refrigerator the day before you will be using it.
That way, it defrosts slowly and evenly. Be gentle with it and every time you take a sheet of dough off the pile, make sure to put a towel over the pile to keep it from drying out.
Baklava
Makes 18 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
- 1 pound chopped walnuts
- 1 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup honey
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9×13 inch pan.
- Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan (just alternate folding ends in if it doesn’t fit right), 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. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up. This freezes well!
It’s worth every calorie…trust me.
Thank you so much Erin for letting me share a bit of my world on your blog! I hope everyone will visit me over at Melissa Likes To Eat for some more splurge-worthy recipes….and sometimes some healthy ones too! 
About bigfatbaker
Yum! What a great recipe. But I’ll tell ya, as much as I like the taste I am the worse person in the world when it comes to working with Phyllo dough. I rip, tear it, make it to wet and ahhhhhh!! But however I love the taste of it! This is a fab recipe Melissa!!
Erin, Great guest blogger today!!!
I love making baklava but I only allow myself to do it once a year because I can’t leave the stuff alone. Addictive!
I made baklava one time. It was for a class that my husbands grandson was taking in highschool. He was flunking so for extra credit the teacher gave him all kinds of recipes he had to make. So, I was asked to help. Yikes. My kitchen was a mess and I was so tired by the end of a long day of cooking and baking. The baklava was delishious but kind of a pain in the behind to make. Maybe it seemed harder because I was so exhausted by the time we got to that recipe. So, from now on, I will just find someplace to buy baklava altho I don’t think it will be as good as what we ended up making. The recipe called for chocolate chips and because I am such a chocolate freak, I ended up sending most of it home with Kyle. Way to tempting.
Oh, how I love baklava! Mine doesn’t use honey, but I’d love to try your version, Melissa
Great guest post and great recipe. Baklava is one of our favorite desserts and your version in the photo looks amazing!