Originally posted in My Soap Mom's Kitchen Blog
Most requested recipe by friends and family!
This recipe came about one day when I was in Culinary School. My Master Chef instructor gave us 15 minutes to take a classic baking recipe and re-invent the original without losing the integrity of the recipe. Well I am Greek, needless to say, we eat a lot of baklava. I love short-breads and I love baklava, so for me this was a natural. Anyways, it was a big hit and everyone including all the chefs wanted the recipe. It was an honor. I have been making it ever since. If you are a baklava lover this is for you.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
48 one each square bar cookies
Basic Shortbread
Recipe: ( Professional Pastry recipe scaled down)
3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy, lighter in
color. Mix flour and salt. Add to butter mixture with mixer on slow, until it
comes together. Take a half size sheet pan and press cookie dough with finger,
until the pan is covered in dough. Bake 15 minutes. They will be underdone. Cool shortbread:
Phyllo Dough
1 package of thin phyllo dough not country style. The one
for Baklava:
1 and 1/2 sticks melted unsalted butter. Take a half size sheet pan, take one sheet of
phyllo, brush with butter and put another sheet on top. Continue this until all
the phyllo has been layered with butter and phyllo. Pop into a freezer
for 1 to 2 hours until solid. If sheet pan does not fit into freezer, cut
phyllo layers into half or thirds and put into pan and pop into freezer.
Nut Mixture
2 cups ground walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp clove
When phyllo is completely hard, slide an offset spatula to
take out of pan. It is okay if it breaks you want it to break. Take into your hands
and break into different, rough shapes the size of a quarter. Put into a big
bowl add Nut Mixture and mix with clean hands. Break apart more with fingers.
Add on top of shortbread cookies and bake for another 30- 35 minutes until
golden brown. You can double your sheet pan to prevent the bottom of the
shortbread from getting to dark.
When done let cool completely.
Syrup:
3 cups sugar
2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of clove
1 T. lemon juice (fresh)
1 lemon rind
In a heavy sauce pan, bring to a boil and let simmer gently
for 35 minutes until thicker in consistency. Drizzle hot syrup on to cookie baklava.
I usually do half the syrup let cookie cool completely. Then I reheat the rest
of the syrup and add it on top. You do not have to add all the syrup if you like a less sweet cookie. When
cool completely, cut into squares. The syrup helps the phyllo stick to each other
and to the cookie shortbread. I always add the whole amount of syrup, but I
usually let the first application dry and cool and than add the second. You
must let the syrup simmer for at least thirty minutes. In needs to be thicker
and some what sticky.
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