THOMAS JOSEPH'S BAKLAVA

Thomas Joseph's Baklava image

Provided by Martha Stewart

Yield Makes 30 to 40

Number Of Ingredients 7

4 cups pistachios, walnuts, or pecans, finely chopped
3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons rose water
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 pound frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2 cups Thomas Joseph's Clarified Butter

Steps:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix together nuts, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon rose water, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon; set aside.
Place remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/4 cups water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining tablespoon rose water and return to a boil; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let syrup cool completely.
Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with clarified butter. Carefully layer half of the phyllo dough in the baking dish, brushing between each layer with clarified butter. Sprinkle nut mixture over top and continue layering remaining phyllo dough over nut mixture, brushing between each layer with clarified butter.
Brush top layer generously with butter. Using a sharp knife with a very thin blade (such as a boning knife), score baklava into 1 1/2-inch-wide diamond-shaped pieces, cutting through all of the phyllo layers.
Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, about 50 minutes more. Remove from oven and pour syrup over baklava; let cool completely before serving.