Baklava Recipe

Boyajian family baklava recipe

This recipe is a compilation of online recipes created by my mom, Laurel Boyajian, in an attempt to recreate the baklava baked by her Armenian aunts from her childhood.

Recipe modifications:
Vegan: you can easily make this recipe vegan by using a vegan butter - no other changes needed.
Sugar: you can cut down the total amount of sugar used to make a less sweet version or substitute honey instead of sugar.

---

Supplies:

• Rectangular baking dish
• Food processor
• Pastry brush

Ingredients (filling, syrup, and dough):

• Filo dough (usually found in the frozen section of the grocery store near the pie crusts)
• 6 Tbs rose water
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 lb raw nuts (I use a combination of 50% walnut, 25% hazelnut, and 25% pistachio)
• 1 1/3 - 2 cups butter (melted)

Syrup Instructions:

1. Boil together for 2 minutes 3/4 cup water and 1 1/2 cups sugar
2. Let cool slightly (5-10 minutes)
3. Stir in 2 Tbsp rose water
4. Refrigerate (NOTE: store in liquid measuring cup, if available, for later pouring ease)

Filling Instructions:

1. Let filo dough come to room temperature
2. Blend together in short bursts all of the nuts and 1/2 cup sugar until finely chopped, transfer to bowl
3. Mix in 4 Tbsp rose water, gently folding rose water into nut and sugar mixture

Assembly Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350\(^\circ\)
2. Melt 1 1/3 cups butter, transfer to small bowl
3. If necessary, cut filo dough in half to create sheets roughly the same size as your baking dish
4. Brush bottom and sides of pan with melted butter
5. Layer in 2 sheets of filo dough and brush with melted butter, repeating until roughly 1/3 of the dough has been used
6. Spread half of the nut and sugar mixture into baking dish
7. Repeat steps 8 and 9, using 1/3 of the remaining dough and all of the remaining nut and sugar mixture
8. Repeat set 8, using all of the remaining dough (NOTE: you may need to re-melt your butter or melt additional butter throughout this process)
9. Brush the top layer of the baklava with extra butter
10. Cut 1-inch wide strips along the diagonals to create diamond shaped pieces, ensuring knife cuts through bottom layer of dough
11. Bake for 30 minutes at 350\(^\circ\)
12. Reduce hear to 300\(^\circ\) and bake for 10 minutes or until top is golden brown
13. Remove from oven and immediately re-cut along both diagonals (ensure cut goes all the way through the bottom layers)
14. Pour all of syrup evenly over the whole dish (it will look syrupy)
15. Let cool at room temperature for 3 hours to allow syrup to completely absorb
16. ENJOY!