We had a special guest come over and VOILA! A baklava baking party!
My Jordanian lady friend “A” and I made plans for her to stop by and teach us how to make baklava – the authentic Jordanian way. Can’t get more genuine than that, can you?
All the kids were eager to help out, including Jack and Brooke’s good Syrian classmates. It was really great to hear their classmates talk in Arabic with “A”!
Brooke and her friend were responsible for the delicious syrup made out of cinnamon sticks, lime zest, cloves, water and sugar…oh, and honey too. It really turned out fabulous! You know – the girlie touch.
Constructing it was quite simple. “A” had brought chopped almonds and walnuts which served as the main yummy part (with the syrup!). She layered sheet after sheet of phyllo dough with unsalted butter brushed in between. Then came the yummy nut filling topped with more phyllo dough.
It was baked in two stages at 350F – 30 minutes at the lowest rack setting then finished off with 30 minutes with the rack raised to the second tier from the top.
Man, it was really starting to smell great while baking… When it was done, “A” carefully cut the baklava into squares, then into the triangles you saw in the first photo. She then slowly drizzled the sweet syrup all over the pastry through a strainer.
Done! Let cool for several hours and enjoy!
We sure did!
Thanks, “A” and the kids!
Masako and Spam Musubi 
Not sure how you had the patience to let cool for a couple of hours!
Please see reply to Chatter Master’s comment below!
I can’t remember the last time I had some. Looks like the children had fun, but I agree with Animalcouriers, how did you get the kids to wait?
Please see reply to Chatter Master’s comment below!
How did KOJI wait that long?? It looks wonderful. And it looks like fun.
Easy! I wanted to impress someone! Lol!
Oh geez. 😉
Blahaha!
😉
How delicious! I’ve never made it, but I’ve had the real deal when others have…and boy is it wonderful! The photos were great. It looked like a wonderful time for everyone. And I’m sure the end results were even better! 🙂
It was a good time… and I will never pass up a chance to see “A”. 🙂 Thank you for your kind comment!
Mm. Looks totally delicious. Baklava is one of my favourite treats, and yours looks even better than the tray I photographed at the market last week.
Really?! Wow!!! 🙂 But isn’t it wonderful?
I really love Middle Eastern sweets; baklava, halva, those little dishes of fried fruit flavoured with rose water and honey. Yum, yum.
You have no idea how hungry you just made me! I was just telling someone the other day that I wanted to travel to Greece so I could get some good authentic Baklava! I love that stuff!
LOL. Sorry about that! And Greece is also destination on my bucket list…and its awfully big. 😦
Finally, Koji… you are blogging about food again. I’ve missed the mouth watering treats. Peggy and I had baklava in Turkey on our trip last fall. Scrumptious. –Curt
They are tasty pastries indeed. They disappeared very quickly, too. Next is pineapple upside down cake from scratch…short of milling my own flour. 🙂
Now you are back on track! lol