Dec. 9, 2007 - Christmas breakfast & Christmas goody recipes

Gretchen's Baklava Recipe (She also has a fabulous spinach pie recipe!)

You should make baklava at least 24 hours ahead of time -- a week is best. The longer you let the Baklava sit, the better it gets. After I have everything gathered and the nut mixture done, I can assemble the baklava in about 45 minutes -- the time before you need to start working on the syrup for the batch in the oven. Each pan makes 35 - 45 nice pieces depending on how close your cuts are. Use those darn corner and funky shaped edge pieces to test how it's doing or as your private reward!

Remember that the frozen phyllo (pronounced FEE-low) dough needs to thaw in the refridgerator for around 6 hours. If you thaw it at room temperature, the individual sheets of phyllo dough will stick together. Once you open the phyllo dough you will want to keep working. I just recently bought phyllo dough that came in two packages. In other words they were half sheets, which I think I like better. I have found that you can melt all of the butter and keep it in a crock pot on low so you don't have to melt butter as you go.

Ingredients you will need:

The steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Combine and set aside walnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon
3. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom and sides of a 10x14" (about 1-2" deep) pan with melted butter.
4. Open the phyllo dough and layer 6 whole leafs (or 12 half leafs) in the pan, buttering each layer as you go. (The edges will extend over the side.)
5. Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture.
6. If your phyllo dough comes in full sheets, cut the remaining phyllo dough in half.
7. Layer 8 half sheets -- butter each layer. Each sheet will be an inch or so short, so stagger the sheets from corner to corner to cover the whole pan. I use a pattern so I don't forget how many layers I've put down, but it's even easier if you have a friend help!
8. Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture.
9. Repeat 8 sheets and walnut mixture twice. You will end up with 4 layers of nuts.
10. Layer the remaining half sheets on top -- butter each layer.
11. Brush the top with the remaining butter.
12. Trim the edges off.
13. Cut halfway through the layers using the (new and improved right-hand or left-handers) diagram to the right. See my baklava FAQ page for more tips on cutting. (Note: Do NOT cut from corner to corner.) This is done now since it will be very fragile after it's been baked.
    
14. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown.
15. 15 minutes before the baklava should be done, mix 1 cup sugar, water, and lemon juice in a sauce pan.
16. Cook sauce over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
17. Remove from heat, add the honey and vanilla, and stir until well blended.
18. Remove the baklava from the oven and finish cutting through the layers.
19. Pour the sauce over the hot baklava.
20. Cool. Let it sit for at least 24 hours (lightly covered -- but not in the refrigerator) -- longer if you can stand it!

Butter crunch
 
1 cup butter           1 tblsp light corn syrup
1 cup sugar            1 1/2 cups of dry roasted p. nuts
2 tblsp water
 
Butter baking sheet.  Melt butter in a 2-quart sauce pan over low heat.  Add sugar: heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Stir in water and corn syrup.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, to 290 degrees on a candy thermometer.   Remove from heat: stir in nuts.   Pour candy mixture onto baking sheet and spead about 1/4 in. thick.  You may have to pound it down with the back of the wooden spoon..   As crunch cools, loosen from baking sheet acouple times with spatula.   Let set at room temp.   When completely cooled, pat off excess butter with a paper towel both from the top and bottom.   Break into pieces.   Store in tightly covered container.

Cinnamon Pecans
 
1 egg white   1 tsp. water
 
Beat together until it peaks. Use to coat 1 lb. of Pecans.  Mix together 1 cup sugar,  2 tsp. cinnamon,  1 tsp. salt pour over pecans and stir until well coated.   Bake at 250 degrees for 15 minutes then stir, 15 minutes, stir 5 minutes, stir 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir and let cool completely.  Store in air tight container.

I have never made these recipes before so I hope they come out good.  :-)  I tried both of these candies at my friend's house and then asked for the recipe because they were so good. 

I used to make more goodies but I cut back last year because it was a little ridiculous how much sweet stuff we had around for weeks.  Also not great for the waist line!  I try to give away things or take them as a dessert for parties and things.  I usually have some set out when we have Bible study here too.