Name: Authentic Greek Baklava
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 16 baklava
Ingredients: 4 sheets of phyllo pastry dough; 1/4 cup butter, melted; 1/2 cup ground almonds; 2 tbsp granulated sugar; 3/4 tsp cinnamon; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 1 cup water; 1/8 tsp vanilla extract

It’s time for another celebration, and this time we’re celebrating Christina from Strawberries for Supper who’s expecting a little boy! A bunch of my favourite blogging-ladies and I have gotten together to throw a virtual surprise shower for Christina! I had quite a bit of trouble deciding what treat I would “bring” to her virtual shower, but I decided on this recipe for authentic Greek baklava. This is an old family recipe of mine, and I’m so excited to share it today for this great occasion. Christina was actually my roommate at the Food Bloggers of Canada conference last year, and we got along straight away. Not only are we both foodies, but we’re obsessed with our dogs and we’re both self-proclaimed history nerds (although she is much more knowledgeable than I am).

Christina already has the most adorable little boy and I just know this new addition will be just as sweet. I wanted to make something a little unique for the shower and I thought that Baklava would fit the bill, plus I’ve made this recipe probably a thousand times and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. It’s amazing what a wonderful group these women are who I’ve gotten to know over the past year and a half, so be sure to check out their links as we celebrate Christina and her new little one! Congrats Christina!

Yields 16 baklava

Authentic Greek Baklava

25 minPrep Time

40 minCook Time

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Ingredients

4 sheets of phyllo pastry dough
¼ cup butter, melted

For filling:

½ cup ground almonds
2 tbsp granulated sugar
¾ tsp cinnamon

For syrup:

1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup water
⅛ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a cookie sheet with butter.
Prepare filling, mix ground almonds, granulated sugar and cinnamon.
Carefully brush butter all over 1 piece of phyllo dough. Place a second layer of phyllo dough on top and butter it.
Cut the 2 sheets of phyllo dough into 8 rectangles.
Spoon 1 rounded tsp of filling at the bottom of the rectangle of dough, leaving room at the sides to fold in the dough to create a package. Repeat with remaining rectangles of dough.
To stop the filling from spilling out the sides, fold a seam inwards along the outside edges of the rectangle of phyllo dough. Carefully roll from the bottom (with the filling) towards the top to create a log-shaped pastry.
Repeat process with remaining dough.
Brush little rolls with remaining butter and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare syrup on the stove. Bring to a low boil and boil for 30-40 minutes.
Pour boiling syrup over cooked baklava.

Notes

Tip: Keep phyllo dough between two damp cloths while forming the baklava to keep it from drying out.