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Recipe: Yia Yia’s Baklava

Best Baklava Recipe in Chattanooga

La-Dolce-Vita-Betty-Butler-Kyriakidis-Chef-ChattanoogaRecipe by: Betty Butler Kyriakidis, Chef & Owner, Acropolis Grill
As shared in the Cityscope Article “La Dolce Vita” by Brenda Shafer, featuring “delectable indulgences from Five Area Restaurants.”

  • 1 lb. pecans, coarsely ground
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 lb. butter, melted
  • 1 box phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 350⁰. Combine nuts, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl. Brush a 9×13 baking dish with some of the butter. Layer 10 pieces of phyllo in the dish, brushing every 2 sheets with butter (always layer 2 sheets of phyllo at a time). Sprinkle a quarter of the nut mixture over the 10 phyllo pieces. Then layer 4 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing every other sheet with butter. Sprinkle another quarter of the nut mixture. Add 4 more phyllo sheets on top, brushing every other sheet with butter, then add another quarter of the nut mixture, 4 more pieces of buttered phyllo, and the remaining nuts. Finish with remaining 10 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing every other sheet with butter. Brush the top piece with extra butter. Cut into the baklava on a diagonal, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then make diagonal slices, about 1 1/2 inches apart, to create a diamond pattern. Bake until golden, about 1 hour.

For syrup:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup (8 oz.) honey
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 orange peel (optional)
  • Juice of one lemon

In a saucepan, bring the sugar, honey, water, cinnamon stick, and orange peel to a boil over medium heat, then cook 10 to 15 minutes and add lemon juice. Pour the warm syrup over the hot baklava as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool with syrup soaking into baklava. Once cooled, keep wrapped at room temperature.

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