Best Bourbon Pecan Baklava Recipes

PECAN BOURBON BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Make Baklava:
• Preheat oven to 375 ̊F with rack in the middle. Lightly brush a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with melted butter.
• Pulse pecans, sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor until finely chopped.
• Cut phyllo sheets in half crosswise, forming 18 (12 by 8 1/2-inch) sheets, then arrange in 1 stack and cover with plastic wrap.
• Keeping remaining phyllo covered and working quickly, place 1 sheet on a work surface and gently brush with butter. Top with another sheet and brush with butter. Continue layering until you have a stack of 6 buttered sheets. Transfer stack to the baking dish and sprinkle with one-third of the pecan mixture. Build a second stack of 3 phyllo sheets, buttering between each layer. Transfer to a baking dish sprinkle with half of remaining pecan mixture. Repeat with another stack of 3 buttered sheets and sprinkle with remaining pecan mixture. Top with a stack of 6 buttered sheets.
• Score pastry with a sharp knife in quarters lengthwise, then score on a diagonal making 6 cuts about 2 inches apart to create a diamond pattern.
• Bake baklava 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 ̊F until top is golden, 40-45 minutes more.
• Make syrup while baklava bakes:
• Bring honey, sugar, water, cloves, zest, and 1/4 cup bourbon to a simmer in a small pot, stirring until sugar and honey have dissolved. Remove from heat and let stand while baklava finishes baking.
• When baklava has finished baking, transfer in pan to a rack. Boil syrup until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 Tbsp bourbon. Discard zest and cloves and pour hot syrup to be absorbed and flavors to develop. Cut into diamonds by cutting lengthwise into fourths, then diagonally across.

BACON PECAN BOURBON BAKLAVA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9- by 13-inch baking pan. 2. In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the figs and 2 tablespoons bourbon. Let stand until the bourbons soaks into the figs. Meanwhile, cook the bacon as directed until very well browned. Drain on paper towels, then crumble very finely. Very finely chop the pecans. Stir the bacon, pecans, and ½ cup sugar into the fig mixture. 3. Lay a sheet of phyllo into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Lightly brush with melted butter. Repeat with 4 more phyllo sheets and butter. Spread one-third of the filling evenly over the phyllo. On a clean work surface, lightly brush 1 phyllo sheet with butter. Top with another phyllo sheet and lightly butter. Repeat with 3 more phyllo sheets and butter, then press the stack on top of the filling. Spread half of the remaining filling evenly on top. Repeat this layering of 5 phyllo sheets and bacon filling one more time. Top with 5 buttered and stacked phyllo sheets, buttering the top well. 4. With a small, sharp serrated knife, cut the baklava into 48 diamonds. Bake the baklava until dark golden brown, about 1 hour. 5. While the baklava bakes, bring the maple syrup, water, remaining ½ cup sugar, and remaining 3 tablespoons bourbon to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, pour the syrup evenly on top. Let stand for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.

BOURBON PECAN BAKLAVA RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine sugar, bourbon, 1 cup water, vanilla bean, and reserved seeds. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook until mixture registers 225° on a deep-frying/candy thermometer. Remove from heat, and stir in honey. Strain mixture, discarding vanilla bean. Let cool completely. In a large bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Line a 17x12-inch rimmed baking sheet with 1 sheet of phyllo dough, letting edges of dough extend over sides of pan, if necessary. Brush with melted butter. Continue layering pan with phyllo dough, covering bottom of pan only, to make 8 layers. Brush between layers with melted butter. (To prevent phyllo from drying when not in use, cover with a moist towel.) Sprinkle 3/4 cup pecan mixture evenly over top layer of phyllo. Cover pecan layer with 1 layer phyllo; brush with melted butter. Repeat procedure with remaining pecan mixture for 8 more layers. Top the last layer of nuts with 9 layers of phyllo, brushing all but the top sheet with butter. (Trim edges of phyllo if they overhang.) Preheat oven to 300°. Cut layers diagonally into 3/4- to 1-inch diamonds. In a small saucepan, heat remaining butter over medium heat until butter has a nutty aroma and is dark brown in color. Pour butter evenly over baklava. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool completely. Pour bourbon mixture evenly over baklava. Let sit for at least 24 hours before removing from pan. Store at room temperature for up to 1 week.