Baklava

Growing up, there was always a desert that really caught my attention, and that was baklava. I forgot when that time of year was when the baklava would come around, most likely a local festival in Milwaukee, but I recall that time of year, and I would attempt to always get a triangle of the delicious and flaky baklava.

As I was making a lot of dishes yesterday, I thought that I would make a desert, not so much for myself, but to try something new for the kids. Looking around my kitchen, I noticed a large bag of salted pistachios on the counter. I am not sure what hit me, but I instantly thought of baklava. Now I believe that baklava is typically made with crushed walnuts, however I thought the pistachio would add a nice salty hit to the sweetness of the butter and syrup.

The dish is really quick to make and will keep you coming back for more, which can be dangerous if you are looking to shed a few pounds, fortunately I have some control.

Ingredients:
1 box of filo dough, thawed
2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted
2 cups of crushed pistachios
Cinnamon, to sprinkle

Syrup
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water

Start by greasing a 9×13 deep baking pan. Taking each layer of filo dough, lightly butter each layer, and sprinkle a bit of the pistachio nuts and cinnamon on each layer. Continue this process until all of the dough is used. Once layered, cut the dough into triangles or squares before cooking. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and cook for 45 minutes, until golden brown. While the baklava is cooking in the oven, add the sugar and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and cook for nearly 20 minutes. This will reduce down and make a wonderful syrup. Once the baklava is done cooking, drizzle the syrup all over the baklava. This is the hard part; you have to let it cool! Once cooled, dig in. Trust me on this one, not only is it super easy to make, but it is so flaky and delicious, you will want more!