Chickadees! I am SO excited to share this recipe with you all! This recipe of Baklava is from the one and only Joanna Gains! I knew I wanted some version of Baklava to be an All Flock Feed post. When I started watching Magnolia Table, and it was the first dessert on the first episode so I took that as my sign!
I was first introduced to Baklava back in the 7th grade. During our Greek Mythology chapter, our teacher, Jodie, brought it in for us to try. I have been obsessed with it ever since! She was a teacher of mine who I had for three different years/classes. 7th grade English, 10th grade honors English, and AP English my junior year.
My friend Maurissa and I were just talking about how she really was one of the best teachers and who truly prepared us for life after high school. So needless to say, Baklava isn’t the only takeaway from her teachings, but maybe one of my favorites!
Baklava: Paperlike dough?
The one thing I remember Jodie telling the class was Baklavas paperlike dough and that always stuck with me. I think I ended up buying Baklava at the store a few times but I have always wanted to make it. Then it came back up again when I started the All Flock Feed segment. I never really looked into it before a month ago, I searched on Pinterest for recipes and learned it’s called Phyllo dough. I looked at Walmart for it, they didn’t have it and then dropped the idea. Then when I watched Joanna make it, I just knew I wanted to. Like most recipes, I make them for another purpose and not just for the blog. We had our little Christmas get to together coming up so I decided I could make it for that!
When I told my sister, Karlie, and my friend Maurissa about this, they both basically said It seems like a complicated recipe. And guess what? I thought the same thing. I was pretty nervous. But I watched Joanna make it again and I knew I could do it. It’s really not that hard, once you know how to layer it. Kroger does carry Phyllo dough and I Just had to drive to the next town over to get it! That was really my number 1 concern was where to buy the phyllo dough. I was imagining I would need to order from a higher-end organic store. But nope, Kroger carries it.
Your Favorite Nuts
I only used cashews for my baklava. Joannas’ recipe calls for almonds and pistachios. I figured any nuts you use would pretty much taste the same. But I didn’t want to buy almonds, I love pistachios but they are so expensive compared to others. So cashews it was. And honestly, you can just faintly tell that they are cashews. So I say, buy and use whatever nuts you like! You just need to toast them a little in a skillet and wait until you can smell them and take them off. If you don’t have a food processor you can use a chopper, similar to the Pampered Chef one. Or, if you are like me and don’t have either, just put them in a ziplock bag and use a small 10oz hammer. I am not even kidding. That’s what I use.
6 Nuts, 6 Nuts, 10!
Joanna doesn’t really say much about the recipe on the blog but she has a little trick on how to remember to put this yummy dessert together. She talks about it on the Magnolia Table episode. 6 layers of phyllo dough, a layer of nuts, 6 layers of dough, a layer of nuts then 10 more layers of dough. 6 nuts, 6 nuts, 10! Pretty simple right? Before you add your first layer, make sure to add some of your melted butter to your baking pan.
Okay so now we know how to put it together, but let’s talk more about this phyllo dough. Joanna had said it dries out easily so you have to keep a damp towel over the dough just make sure you have plastic in between the two. The package of the phyllo dough says to let it thaw at room temperature for at least 3 hours. I think I ended up leaving it out too long some of the layers were too stuck together to even use. I did still end up having just enough to make the Baklava so it all worked out.
My Life is just Messy Sometimes
Joannas’ recipe calls for 2 1/2 sticks of melted butter. You butter each piece of phyllo down as you put it down on your pan. I knew I would somehow end up needing more so I did 3 sticks. Then I ended up melting a 4th stick. I don’t have a baking brush, I just used a spoon so that’s probably a big difference there. Before you add your first layer, make sure to add some of your melted butter to your baking pan. But I think I was using too much butter for each layer. Mine doesn’t look near as “dry” as hers did mine was messier. That pretty much sums my life up haha.
After you have your dough and nuts layered in your pan, you cut rows across and down your pan to create squares. Then you cut those squares down the middle diagonal wise to create triangles. next, after your baklava is cut, bake it for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Honey and Orange Syrup
You don’t have to start your yummy syrup right away but you want to start it when you have about 15 minutes or so. You want your syrup done so you can put the syrup on as soon as the baklava comes out of the oven. It needs time to boil and then to simmer for 10 minutes. Add your sugar honey, orange peel, and orange juice to your pan and bring to a boil then let it simmer. Joannas’ recipe in her description calls for water. I didn’t see it on the recipe list so I didn’t add water to my syrup and it turned out just fine. Then pour the syrup right over your baklava when it comes out of the oven nice and hot. This smells amazing cooking! Then just let your completed baklava sit and cool for 4 hours or overnight and enjoy!
This Baklava recipe is from Joanna Gains and Magnolia Table. You can find the recipe here and along with the full written instructions.
Ingredients for Baklava:
Baklava
1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) whole raw almonds, toasted
1 2/3 cups (8 ounces) raw pistachios, plus 3 tablespoons chopped toasted pistachios
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
One 16-ounce package of frozen phyllo dough, thawed
Honey Syrup:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup good-quality raw honey
One 3-inch strip of orange peel (with pith)
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
My Last Notes for Baklava
This Baklava recipe was so worth the wait! So good! Everyone who tried it liked it. My picky sisters said it was good but weren’t their cup of tea. But everyone else has loved it! If you haven’t tried baklava you need to try this! Don’t be afraid to make this either! It’s just layering and making syrup! You can do it, you just need to believe in yourself!
This Baklava recipe is from Joanna Gains and Magnolia Table. You can find the recipe here and along with the full written instructions.
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