Deep Dish Baklava Food

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Combine the nuts, cinnamon and ground crackers in a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with some of the butter. Layer 10 pieces of phyllo in the dish, brushing each piece with butter before adding the next (keep the remaining dough covered with a damp towel). Sprinkle a quarter of the nut mixture over the dough. Layer 4 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing each with butter before adding the next; sprinkle with another quarter of the nut mixture. Add 4 more phyllo pieces on top, brushing each with butter, then add another quarter of the nut mixture, 4 more pieces of phyllo with butter, and the remaining nuts.
• Layer the remaining 10 pieces of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing each with butter; brush the top piece with extra butter. Cut into the baklava to make strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then make diagonal slices, about 1 1/2 inches apart, to create a diamond pattern. Bake until golden, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup: Bring the sugar, honey and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and boil 2 more minutes, then let cool slightly.
• Pour the syrup over the warm baklava; let soak, uncovered, at least 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with nuts.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease a 21cm x 21cm square cake tin with butter. Chop the nuts into small pieces using a food processor, taking care not to blitz them to a paste. Put them into a bowl, stir in the honey and a pinch of salt and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Cut the first pack of filo pastry sheets in half (so that they fit the tin). Put one sheet in the tin and brush with the melted butter. Lay another sheet on top and brush with butter again, keep layering like this until the whole pack is used up.
• Spread the honey and nut mixture over the pastry and press it down lightly with the back of a spoon. Open the other pack of filo, cut in half and continue the layering and buttering process. When you reach the last sheet pour any remaining butter over the top to finish. Use a sharp knife to cut deep lines into the pastry to create either squares or diamond shapes then bake in the oven for 20 mins.
• Reduce the heat to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and bake for a further 45 mins. While the baklava cooks put all the syrup ingredients into a saucepan and add 200ml water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then boil the mixture for 8-10 mins or until it has reduced to the consistency of runny honey.
• When the baklava comes out of the oven, pour the warm syrup over the top, allowing it to run into the lines you have cut. Leave it to soak in and serve when it's completely cold.

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.

EASY BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.
• Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes.
• Bake in preheated oven 50 minutes, until golden and crisp. While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon zest, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered.

DEEP DISH APPLE CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the apple slices in a large bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples, tossing gently to coat.
• Spread the mixture evenly into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, salt, and butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add the sliced almonds and mix well. Spoon the mixture over the apples, pressing down slightly as you go. Completely cover the apples with the topping mixture.
• Bake 45 minutes or until apples are tender. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack to desired temperature for serving. Or after cooling, refrigerate until ready to eat and serve cold.

MOCLAVA (EASY BAKLAVA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Line a 8x8 baking pan with foil. Spray foil with non-stick spray generously.
• Crush up your 4 cups of honey nut cheerios. Add melted butter and mix to coat. Press into baking pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over mixture. Top with nuts. Bake for 25 minutes.
• Drizzle honey on top, if desired (this is optional). Let sit for at least an hour. Pull out of baking pan by gripping foil. Cut into squares. Enjoy!

DEEP-DISH BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch metal baking pan with melted butter.
• Pastry: in a small bowl, combine the walnuts, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves; set aside.
• On a clean work surface, lay flat 1 sheet of phyllo and brush it lightly with melted butter.
• Layer 7 more sheets of phyllo over the first, buttering each one.
• Carefully lay this stack of butter phyllo in the prepared pan.
• Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of the nut mixture.
• Layer together 8 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet, and lay this stack over the first layer of nuts.
• Sprinkle the second stack of phyllo sheets with another 1 cup of the nut mixture.
• Repeat this process until there are 5 stacks of buttered phyllo (8 sheets in each stack) separated by and ending with a layer of nut mixture (1 cup for each of 5 layers).
• On a flat work surface, prepare the top of the pastry by layering together 35 sheets of phyllo dough, buttering each sheet.
• Carefully place this stack of layered phyllo over the last layer of nuts in the pan.
• The pan should be completely full of pastry.
• With a sharp knife, score the baklava into square or diamond-shape pieces by cutting through just the top layers of phyllo dough.
• Bake until crisp throughout and the top layers are golden brown, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• While the baklava is baking, make the honey syrup: combine all the syrup ingredients in a large stockpot and bring the syrup to a boil over med-high heat.
• Decrease heat to medium and simmer until the mixture is the consistency of thick maple syrup, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the syrup from the heat and let cool slightly.
• As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, spoon the slightly warm syrup over the pastry.
• Let the baklava cool completely before cutting the scored pieces completely.
• Don't be nervous if the baklava seems to be swimming in the syrup initially.
• As the pastry cools, the syrup is absorbed into the layers.
• It is very important to allow the baklava to cool completely, giving the syrup plenty of time to ease into the pastry layers and give the baklava its wonderful gooey-crisp texture.
• Baklava will keep, covered, for 2 days at room temperature or 4 days refrigerated.