Baklava~ Altered

Photo: Ashley E

Ingredients

1 teaspoon (5- inch piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 ground

2 tablespoons Allspice

6 ounces blanched almonds

6 ounces raw or roasted pistachio

2/3 cup sugar

1 pound phyllo dough, thawed

8 ounces clarified unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/4 cups honey

1 1/4 cups water

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 piece (2- inch) fresh grapefruit peel

I used Alton Brown's recipe, and then changed it the way I wanted it to be

Preparation

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the cinnamon stick into a spice grinder and grind.

Place the almonds and pistachios, sugar and freshly ground spices into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pasty or powdery, approximately 15 quick pulses. Set aside.

Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with butter; lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat this step 14 more times for a total of 15 sheets of phyllo. Top with 1/2 of the nut mixture and spread thinly. Top with 10 sheets of phyllo brushing with butter in between each sheet. Top with an additional 10 sheet, and add the other 1/2 of the nut mixture. Add 15 more sheets to the top of the nut mixture. CUT into squares. Brush the top generously with butter. Put pan to the oven and continue to bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours before adding the syrup.

Make the syrup during the last 30 minutes of cooling. Combine the honey, water, sugar, cinnamon stick and orange peel in a 4-quart saucepan and set over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and discard the orange peel and cinnamon stick.

After the baklava has cooled for 2 hours, re-cut the entire pan following the same lines as before. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava, allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

I would recommed only using 1 cup of the water, honey, and sugar****