Katie's Baklava Recipe
Ingredients
1 1/4 Pounds Walnuts, coarsely chopped
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves (powdered)
6 Zwieback toasts, finely crushed
3 - 1/2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup Crisco
1 Pound Filo (thaw overnight in fridge)
Syrup:
4 cups sugar
2-1/2 cups water
1 small cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4" strip of lemon rind
1/2 cup honey
Remove Filo from fridge to warm slightly. Do not unwrap.
Melt butter & Crisco in sauceapan. Remove from heat and allow to settle for or 10 minutes. Skim off and discard foam (salt).
Combine nuts, spices and crushed Zweibacks. Mix thoroughly.
Get filo and 13" x 9" pan ready. Use butter and pastry brush after each layer of filo. Layering as follows:
10 sheets of filo, 1 cup of nut mixture, 5 sheets of filo, 1 cup of nut mixture etc. until you run out of nut mixture. Put at least 8 layers of filo on top.
Cut diagonally before you put it into the oven (you won't be able to cut it after).
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Then increase temp to 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
While the baklava is baking. Make the syrup. On the stove top combine all the syrup ingredients except the honey. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 10 minutes. Stir in honey. Discard spices and lemon peel. Pour immediately over baked baklava very slowly. Cool completely before cutting.