Pistachio Baklava + Orange Blossom Water & Saffron
Serves: one 9x13 pan
 
*Thaw phyllo dough specifically as package instructions indicate.
Ingredients
  • 1 package Phyllo dough, thawed(16 oz.)
  • 2½ sticks Unsalted Butter, melted (10 oz., 1¼ cups)
  • ½ pound Walnuts, finely chopped
  • ½ pound Pistachios, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
  • ¾ cup Raw Cane Sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
  • ¾ cup water
  • ¾ cup Honey
  • 1 teaspoon Saffron Threads
  • 2 teaspoons Orange Blossom Water
Instructions
  1. Combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium sized saucepan.
  2. Whisk over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the heat up to medium/high and bring syrup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let cook for four minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the saffron and honey. Whisk in the orange blossom water. Set syrup aside.
  3. Place the walnuts, pistachios, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse the mixture until the nuts resemble coarse crumbs. Place mixture in a bowl and set aside.
  4. Trim thawed phyllo sheets to fit your baking pan. I use a 9x13" pan so I trim about 1 inch of dough of the length of the phyllo.
  5. Lay the trimmed sheets of phyllo on a towel and cover the stack with another towel that is slightly damp(this is to keep the dough from drying out).
  6. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13" baking pan.
  7. Lay a sheet of phyllo in the buttered pan(sheet should cover the pan completely) and brush that sheet with butter. Repeat this another 9 times so that you have a layer of 10 phyllo dough sheets, each brushed with butter.
  8. Sprinkle ¾ cup of the nut mixture over the layer of phyllo.
  9. Layer another 5 sheets of phyllo, each brushed with butter, over the nut layer.
  10. Sprinkle the layer of 5 sheets phyllo dough with another 3/5 cup of nut mixture.
  11. Layer another 5 sheets of phyllo, each brushed with butter, over the nut layer.
  12. Sprinkle the layer of 5 sheets phyllo dough with another 3/5 cup of nut mixture.
  13. Layer another 5 sheets of phyllo, each brushed with butter, over the nut layer.
  14. Sprinkle the layer of 5 sheets phyllo dough with another 3/5 cup of nut mixture.
  15. Layer 10 more sheets of phyllo dough over the nut mixture, each layer brushed with butter.
  16. To shorten the explanation, you'll want to layer in the following manner:
  17. *10 sheets phyllo
  18. *3/4 cup nut mixture
  19. *5 sheets phyllo
  20. *3/4 cup nut mixture
  21. *5 sheets phyllo
  22. *3/4 cup nut mixture
  23. *5 sheets phyllo
  24. *3/4 cup nut mixture
  25. *5 sheets phyylo
  26. *3/4 cup nut mixture
  27. *10 sheets phyllo
  28. Once the layering is complete, cut the baklava into 1½" strips, lengthwise, and then cut on a diagonal to form diamonds.
  29. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
  30. As soon as you take the baklava out of the oven, drizzle the saffron syrup evenly over the top of the baklava. The syrup should sizzle when it hits the bottom of the pan.
  31. Let cool completely. Baklava is best when served after sitting for 6 hours or overnight to allow the syrup to penetrate and soften the layers.
  32. Store at room temperature covered by a tea towel.
Recipe by The Kitchen McCabe at https://www.thekitchenmccabe.com/2018/01/28/pistachio-baklava-orange-blossom-water-saffron/