Baklava, humbug

Who needs Christmas Cookies when you can have Baklava?

Unlike cookies (and pies, and most other dessert dishes), Baklava relies on sheets of phyllo dough -- dough made from unleavened flour -- for its base, and the final product resembles a light, airy, exceedingly sweet puff pastry.

For this dish, you'll need the following:

• 1 package phyllo dough
• 1.5 c butter
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 lb chopped walnuts

For the glaze, you'll need:

• 1 c water
• 1 c caster/superfine sugar
• 1/2 c honey
• 1 t pure vanilla extract

While your oven is preheating to 350 degrees, gently unroll the phyllo dough, then cut it in half: this will allow it to fit a 9 x 13 glass dish (almost) perfectly. Don't forget to cover the unused dough with a dampened towel while you're working, though, or it will rapidly dry out and become unusable.

Mix the walnuts with the cinnamon and make sure they're fairly evenly coated. Butter your baking dish thoroughly, and make sure all the rest of your butter is melted. Now that your prep work is done, you can begin making the dessert.

Lay a sheet of phyllo in the bottom of your dish, then -- using a pastry brush -- thoroughly butter it. Make five layers of buttered pastry, then sprinkle 2 Tbsp of the chopped walnuts on top. Now you repeat, five layers of phyllo then a layer of nuts until you run out of nuts, then top with the remainder of the phyllo. The top layer of the phyllo should be between 5 and 10 layers thick. Cut the baklava into squares, then drizzle any remaining melted butter over the top and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the baklava is golden, and the edges of the squares begin to curl.

While the baklava is baking, start the water boiling and add the sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Lower the temperature, then add the vanilla extract and honey and keep stirring at a simmer until the liquid has reduced to the consistency of a medium-thick syrup, between 20-30 minutes. Remove the baklava from the oven once it's done cooking and immediately spoon the syrup over the top, then allow to cool, uncovered, for a minimum of 30 minutes. Once the pan has cooled, place it uncovered in the refrigerator to finish setting up.

Enjoy!

One of three submissions for Slashfood