Persian Spiced Baklava Rolls With Orange Blossom Syrup

Total Time: 1 hr 17 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 37 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chopped almonds (i use blanched)
• 1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachio nuts, chopped
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, freshly ground (i use a mortar & pestle)
• 16 sheets phyllo dough
• 1 cup sweet butter (unsalted, melted, you may not use it all so melt as needed if you wish, as i do)
• scant cup sugar (i reduced slightly from 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1/2-1 teaspoon orange blossom water

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 325 or a little lower if your oven runs hot.
• 2 combine all the filling ingredients, mix well.
• 3 butter a 12-by-9-inch or 13-by-9-inch baking pan or 15-by-10-inch jelly roll pan.
• 4 remove the phyllo from the package and lay it flat on your counter. cover the phyllo with wax paper or plastic wrap and place a slightly damp cloth over top.
• 5 remove one sheet of phyllo and place flat on clean, dry counter top, butter as evenly as possible repeat with 3 more sheets of phyllo so there are 4 sheets buttered on top of one another as evenly as possible.
• 6 place a few large spoonfuls of the mixture along the bottom of the top sheet of phyllo and fold the phyllo on the same end over the mixture. then butter the edge of the sheet and continue to roll the phyllo as tightly and evenly as possible. once you get to the end of the sheet, you need to butter the edge as well before closing it. it should now basically be a long thick cigar shape.
• 7 cut off the uneven ends slightly angled like a slash (but don’t throw them away, just throw it into your remaining mixture).
• 8 cut the roll into 2 inch pieces (slightly angled like a slash). butter the ends of each before placing on the buttered baking sheet.
• 9 repeat this same procedure until you have finished using all of the phyllo and mixture.
• 10 once you have finished rolling the phyllo and placing the rolls, buttered on each end, on your pan, butter the top of each roll. bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (this really depends on your oven; keep in mind that the baklava has to bake slowly at a low heat until golden brown).
• 11 prepare the syrup noting that either the syrup should be hot and the baklava cool or visa versa when pouring it over top. (i leave the baklava to cool overnight on the counter and make the hot syrup to pour over the cooled baklava in the morning.).
• 12 mix sugar and water and bring to the boil.
• 13 add lemon juice and boil for 7 more minutes.
• 14 remove from heat and add orange blossom water, stir.
• 15 pour over cooled baklava.
• 16 allow the baklava to sit for about 20 minutes. then turn over the individual rolls to allow both sides to soak in the liquid.
• 17 leave the whole day or over night before serving.
• 18 enjoy!