Baklava

Ingredients

1 pound phyllo leaves (approximately 24 leaves), thawed, wrapped
3 sticks butter, melted
1 pound almonds or walnuts, coarsely-ground
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
Chopped zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unfold phyllo dough on work surface until flat. Place a 9x13 inch jelly roll pan over phyllo and cut dough to fit pan (save scraps for additional inside layers or for another recipe). Cover phyllo dough with a clean, damp towel. Brush bottom and sides of jelly roll pan with butter to coat. Mix nuts with cinnamon. Cover bottom of pan with 1 sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat 7 times. Sprinkle with of nut mixture. Cover with 3 layers of phyllo, each brushed with butter. Layer with of nut mixture and repeat with 3 layers of phyllo, each brushed with butter. Layer with remaining of nut mixture, and cover with 8 layers of phyllo, each brushed with butter. Push edges of dough into sides of pan to even them. Using a sharp knife, cut pastry into small diamond shapes (with 1 1/2-inch sides), cutting through all way layers. Sprinkle water over top to prevent phyllo from curling up. Bake for 1 hour.

In a saucepan combine sugar, water, corn syrup and orange zest. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in honey. Set aside to cool slightly. Remove baklava from oven and pour warm syrup over entire pan. Serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings