Phyllo Love: Baklava

 Oh my goodness!
One bite of this baklava and I'm transported back in time.

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I'm traveling through Greece with my friends Kelly and Sara.
It's terribly hot, and we had been all over Greece and the Greek islands.
Then we ported along a cliffside.
There were only two ways up the cliff to the city;
winding up a very narrow road,
or on the back of a donkey.
Maybe next time I'll take the donkey,
but that day I wasn't ready to die...
At least not at that moment.

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Drinking at a pub on the edge of the cliff,
looking out on the Aegean Sea,
I knew that I was seeing the most beautiful place on Earth.
It's Santorini, Greece.

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Never before had I seen a place that I wanted to die because of it's beauty.
After that day, I had.
It was also the day that I knew where I wanted my ashes spread after I'm gone...
Whoever takes my ashes to Santorini will enjoy a fabulous paid cruise along the Aegean
and toast me along the same cliff edge.
Yep.  It was that beautiful.
And yes, I plan for those things wayyyyy ahead of time.

I've always been intimidated of phyllo dough.
Now, I'm not sure why.
So many people online write about how difficult it is to work with
and I have to say that you do need to work quickly so that it doesn't dry out.
Other than that, it's pretty simple.
Of course, I did read that it matters which brand you choose.
A couple blogs mentioned that Safeway brand phyllo dough
was the easiest to work with, so I purchased it.
Since I haven't experienced any other brand,
I can't say that it was easier or more difficult than another.
It was very easy to work with though.
It didn't take much time to decide what to do with
the extra sheets of phyllo dough when I had completed the Kalakopia.

Easy Baklava
Recipe and Directions from All Recipes
*I used half the amount of everything in this recipe due to the reduced number of phyllo sheets.

Ingredients:
1 pound nuts (I used pecans, because they're delicious.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 package of phyllo dough (16 oz)
1 cup melted butter
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray with cooking oil a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.
3. Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes.
4. Bake in preheated oven 50 minutes, until golden and crisp.
5. While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon zest, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
6. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered.

This dessert is CRAZY delicious!  

I normally have to wait awhile after making a treat before I can try it 

because the smell and process can be overwhelming to my senses.

That was not the case with this Baklava. 

I could barely wait until had cooled 

before I was pulling pieces out of the pan to eat.

That's how good it is!

Now you must make and try this yourself.

Yum!