Cooking with Rania: Fruit-filled Baklava rolls
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- All December, Rania Harris is satisfying our holiday sweet tooth with holiday baking!
Fruit Filled Baklava Rolls
- 1 pound unsalted clarified melted butter (you will have leftover butter)
- 1 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- ¾ cup dried apricots, finely chopped
- ½ cup dried currants
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- 12 full sheets fresh phyllo dough (I use the Filo Factory brand)
Syrup:
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Garnish:
- Honey for drizzling
- Chopped pistachios
Directions
For syrup: Cook all ingredients over low heat (gently boiling) for 20 minutes. Cool completely before using in the mixture and brushing the baked filo rolls.
In a medium bowl, combine the pistachios, walnuts, apricots, currants, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add just enough of the cooled sugar syrup to moisten and slightly bind the mixture – be careful not to make it too "wet". It should "clump" together without being drenched.
Cut phyllo dough in half crosswise to give you 24 pieces. Brush ½ sheet of phyllo with butter. Keep remaining dough covered with plastic bag, while making the rolls.
Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of the fruit and nut mixture about 1 inch in from the bottom of the buttered phyllo piece and roll fold in the sides. Roll up to resemble an egg roll in shape. Arrange each phyllo roll on baking sheet that has been lined with parchment and brush with melted butter. Rolls may be frozen at this point, covered well with foil to prevent freezer burn. When ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake them from a frozen state for about 20 - 25 minutes.
As soon as you remove baklava rolls from the oven: Gently brush cooled syrup over to cover each roll evenly. Let the rolls cool completely. Just before serving, drizzle with a small amount of honey and garnish with pistachios.
Yield: 24 rolls
