Christmas Baklava Recipe
With those 2006 Food Blog Awards, I better get a move on! I know Christmas means different things to many people, and that goes as well for what’s cooking in the kitchen. What I love to enjoy next to the fireplace on Christmas Eve is a nice mug of hot chocolate & some Christmas Baklava. I wasn’t born into a Greek family, but I have such a strong affinity for this delicious sweet treat, I have integrated it into our holiday traditions. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds phyllo dough (approx. 40 sheets)
- 6 ½ cups finely chopped walnuts
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ pound unsalted butter (melted)
- 2 ½ cups honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
What’s Next:
Grease a 13×9 pan (bottom & sides) and set aside.
Mix well the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
Preheat oven to 300 F or 150 C. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack.
Note: When working with phyllo be sure to work fast and keep the unused portion covered with plastic wrap at all times, as it tends to dry out pretty fast. Also, be sure to carefully follow the defrosting instructions on the phyllo.
Set aside one full-size sheet of phyllo dough. Cover with plastic wrap.
Cut remaining phyllo sheets into 13×9 sheets. Actually, measure your pan and cut the sheets to match the actual inside dimensions. With a big sharp knife you should be able to cut all of the phyllo at the same time. You will most likely have a lot of left over phyllo - consider finding another dish where you could use the smaller pieces of leftover phyllo dough.
Carefully lay the full-size phyllo sheet into the greased pan, folding over the pan edges. With a pastry brush, liberally apply melted butter.
Lay a cut sheet of phyllo into the bottom of the pan, and with a pastry brush liberally apply melted butter. Repeat 9 more times, so that you have the one full sheet and 10 smaller sheets as your bottom layer.
Sprinkle 2 cups of the walnut mixture into the pan. Lay 6 more sheets of phyllo on top, making sure to liberally apply the melted butter between each sheet. Repeat this 3 more times, so that you have 4 separate layers of the walnut mixture. For the top layer place as many phyllo sheets on top as you have remaining, again making sure to liberally butter between each sheet.
Using a sharp plastic spatula, carefully fold over the large sheet of phyllo that should still be extended over the edge back onto the top, so that you can see down the inside edges of the pan. In effect you now have one big baklava package wrapped with your initial phyllo sheet.
Using a very, very sharp serrated knife, carefully score the baklava into whatever shape you want. A diamond pattern is the traditional shape. Try to cut about half-way down into the baklava when you do this.
Bake for 2 ½ to 3 hours at 300 degrees until nice and brown.
About 5 minutes before removing the baklava from the oven, combine the honey and lemon juice and heat over a medium heat until runny. Do not boil it, just heat it well so it has a consistency more like water.
Remove the baklava from the oven and very carefully drain the butter that it will no doubt be floating in.
Set the baklava on a cooling rack, and pour the honey mixture completely over it.
Cover the baklava and let sit for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best (if you can wait that long!)
When you are ready to cut the pieces, cut through the score marks with a sharp knife, and use a spatula to remove the pieces. Have patience with this step, if you are not careful here you can make a real mess of it!
Whew! That’s it, you’re done & so is that baklava. Take a break & enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Martha Stewart Truffle Brownies Recipe
No matter how many pre-prepared meals Martha Stewart & Co make, they will never come close to the homemade taste that we create in our kitchens. Don’t believe me? Well then, try on this Martha Stewart Truffle Brownies Recipe on for size & see if you think this bad boy would be just as good frozen & baked! Enjoy.
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
- 3 ounces good-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- Heart-shaped sprinkles, for garnish
What’s Next:
Go ahead & preheat your oven to 325 F or 162 C.
Butter a 9-inch springform pan, and set aside.
To make the batter, put butter and chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; set aside.
Put sugar and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture, milk, and vanilla, and beat until combined. Add flour mixture; beat, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, 27 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan.
Make topping when brownies are cool: Put chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until just simmering. Pour over chocolate; let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Allow ganache to cool, stirring every 10 minutes, until slightly thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
Pour ganache over cooled brownies in pan; let set, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate until cold, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Let brownies stand at room temperature at least 15 minutes before serving. Lift out brownies; cut into wedges, wiping knife with a hot, damp cloth between each cut.
Danish Almond Coffee Cake Recipe
OK, so we now know where to grab the newest coffee gadget, now let’s move on to more important things, the sweets! This Danish Almond Coffee Cake Recipe is a very quick & easy recipe for those unexpected guests or for just a nice weekend treat. Enjoy!
Ingredients for Filling:
- 1 (7oz) roll Odense Almond Paste
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Ingredients for Cake:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp each, baking powder & baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sour cream
What’s Next:
Go ahead & preheat your oven to 350 F or 175 C. Grease and flour 10-12 cup bundt pan. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp almonds into bundt pan and set aside.
Grate Almond Paste. Mix Almond Paste, 1/2 cup of almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
In mixing bowl combine sugar and butter. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and extract. Beat until batter is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture and sour cream to egg mixture. Beat until combined.
Spoon 1/3 of batter into bundt pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of filling on top. Spoon 1/3 of batter on filling. Top with remaining filling. Cover filling with remaining batter.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted near middle of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Unmold carefully onto wire rack and cool completely. Garnish with powdered sugar or almond icing.
It’s Finally Friday Buttermilk Cupcakes Recipe
It’s finally Friday & SlashFood has the right idea with a Buttermilk Cupcakes Recipe with chocolate frosting that is sure to make any weekend sparkle.
You know how I am about good chocolate, and this cupcake recipe by Nicole Weston knows how to do it up right! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup buttermilk
What’s Next:
Go ahead & preheat oven to 350F or 175 C. Place liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.
In a medium bowl- stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl- using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until it looks creamy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract until mixture is smooth.
Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until almost combined. Add buttermilk and stir, again until almost combined. Add the rest of the flour and stir until all ingredients are mixed in and no flour remains.
Fill muffin cups 2/3-3/4 full with batter.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Let cupcakes cool for about 5 minutes, then remove from the muffin pan. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk (any kind)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
What’s Next:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat, with an electric mixer, until frosting is creamy, 3-5 minutes. (Start at a low speed to avoid getting sugar everywhere!)
Make Your Own Fortune Cookies Recipe
You have them in every Chinese restaurant, now you can make them yourself. Try on this highly original, tasty & creative Fortune Cookie Recipe by I Love Milk & Cookies. Enjoy & help yourself to a happy, healthy Monday.
Ingredients:
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 cup plain all purpose flour
- A pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- Non-stick cooking spray
What’s next:
Go ahead & preheat your oven to 200 F or 93 C & spray a baking sheet with some non-stick cooking spray.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, set aside.
Using an electric mixer, in a bowl, combine egg whites and sugar and beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
Add flour and salt and continue to beat until just combined.
Add the melted butter, heavy cream, vanilla or almond extract and mix until combined.
Pour 1 tbsp of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, using the back of spoon, spread the batter into a thing 5 inch circle. Repeat this on the other side of the baking sheet.
Bake for about 6-8 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Make sure to only bake 2 at a time as they will make folding them easier.
Remove from oven. Working as quickly and carefully as possible, lift one cookie off the sheet.
Place a fortune onto the centre of the cookie and fold it in half, pinching the top together to form a semi-circle.
Hold the cookies with both hands at each end and using the edge of a bowl as a guide, bending the two ends together, over the bowl’s edge. This whole process should take about 10 seconds.
Place the fortune cookie on the kitchen towel to cool, and shape the second cookie.
Repeat until all the batter is used up. To speed up the process, bake four cookies at a time, staggering two cookie sheets by 4 minutes to give you time to shape.
Alternatively you can thread the fortune through the cookie when it has cooled to achieve a different look.
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