Pistachio baklava

Source: multiple recipes combined & tested

Ingredients:

- 1 ½ Cup melted Ghee

For the Filling:

- 3 Cups Pistachios (+ some to sprinkle on top)

- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar

For the Honey Simple Syrup:

- 1 Cup Sugar

- ¾ Cup Water

- ⅓ Cup Honey

- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

- 1 Tablespoon Rose Water

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make the simple syrup by combining the sugar, water, honey and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is thickened but still clear colored, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract and rose water and set aside to cool.

Add pistachios and sugar to a blender or food processor and pulse until ground. Don’t worry if there are pieces that haven’t been crushed, it adds a little more crunch to the bite.

Place the phyllo dough on a table. Using a knife, outline the base of the tray. Trim the outline. The dough should fit the tray perfectly. I used a 13×9-inch baking pan.

Brush ghee on the bottom of the tray, then add your first layer of phyllo dough. Brush with ghee and then add another layer. Repeat the steps until you have a total of 5 layers.

Add a thin layer of the pistachio mixture and spread it across the phyllo dough. Add a layer of phyllo dough and brush with ghee. Repeat until there are 5 layers of phyllo dough. Add another thin layer of pistachio mixture. Repeat the phyllo dough and ghee steps again for each 5 layers.

Brush the last layer with ghee. Using a sharp knife, cut diamond shapes into the tray. Make sure the knife goes all the way through.

Bake in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes until golden brown. After about 20 minutes in the oven, sprinkle the remaining pistachio mixture on top and place back in the oven. Once out of the oven, pour the cooled sugar syrup atop the pistachio baklava, immediately, you should hear it sizzle.

Let the baklava sit for at least 6 hours.