• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Great Eight Friends
  • Gr8 Food ∞
    • Appetizers
      • Dips and Spreads
    • Beverages
      • Adult Beverages
      • Non-Alcoholic Drinks
    • Bread
      • Quick Bread
      • Yeast Bread
    • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Egg Dishes
    • Desserts and Snacks
      • Cakes and Cupcakes
      • Candy and Confections
      • Cookies
      • Fruit
      • Pies and Tarts
      • Snacks
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • 130+ Main Courses
      • Beef
      • Fish
      • Lamb
      • Meatless
      • Pork
      • Poultry
    • Salads and Dressings
    • Sauces Salsas Marinades
    • Side Dishes
      • Pasta
      • Potatoes
      • Rice and Grains
      • Vegetables
    • Soup
  • Gr8 Friends ∞
    • Gr8 Dinners
    • Gr8 Holiday Ideas
    • Other Occasion Parties
  • Gr8 Fun ∞
    • Debbie's Craft Corner
    • Gr8 Trips
      • Field Trips
      • Vacations
    • Other Gr8 Stuff
      • Our Favorite Kitchen Tools
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Who We Are
    • GR8 Party Outlines
    • Become a Gr8 Friend!
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Become a Gr8 Friend!
  • Main Courses
  • Appetizers
  • Beverages
  • Bread
  • Breakfast and Brunch
  • Desserts and Snacks
  • Instant Pot Recipes
  • Salads and Dressings
  • Sauces Salsas Marinades
  • Side Dishes
  • Soup
  • Gr8 Friends
  • Gr8 Dinners
  • Gr8 Fun
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Flaky Delicious Lebanese Baklava ...or Baklawa

    March 24, 2019 by Anna Leave a Comment

    Homemade Baklava! It's flaky, tasty and fun to make. Putting those fine layers of phyllo together to make this sweet pastry is so satisfying.

    We've had several Gr8 Dinners where Baklava would be the perfect dessert. It's about time we post the recipe, especially since Debbie and Phil recently hosted a Middle East Feast and asked me to bring it!

    One of our good friends is from Lebanon so I decided to go with the Lebanese style of Baklava rather than the Greek style.

    I figured I'd be able to get an honest critique from our friend (and some tips) since he grew up eating this delicacy.

    Two plates of Lebanese Baklava on silver tray with coffee

    When I asked him for tips (and his mom's recipe) he said, "Why would you make it, when you can buy it?" And I said, "Because that's what we do here at Great 8 Friends"!

    The main difference is that Greek baklava uses honey whereas the Lebanese style uses a sugar syrup; a YUMMY sugar syrup if I might say!

    So here you go, homemade, flaky, sweet and tasty Baklava!

    How To...

    First of all, be sure to move the phyllo from the freezer to the fridge the day before so it can defrost slowly.

    Plate of homemade Lebanese Baklava with tray in background

    Make the Nut Filling

    Grab your food processor and add the pistachios and sugar to the bowl. Then pulse about 5 times. Open the bowl and sprinkle the rose water over the nuts. Close the top and continue pulsing until the nuts are finely ground. This smells absolutely divine!

    The reason for pulsing and not just turning the processor on and letting it run is that you don't want nut butter, you want ground nuts.

    So you need to watch during the pulsing to ensure that you are grinding the nuts and not turning them into butter. (That's a different recipe!)

    Prepare the Phyllo

    Melt the ghee, then use a pastry brush to coat the bottom and sides of your baking pan. Set aside while you open the phyllo.

    Carefully unroll the defrosted phyllo. Have a large sheet of waxed paper or a slightly damp dish towel available.

    You will use this to cover the pieces of phyllo not in use so they don't dry out. Phyllo sheets are super thin and can quickly dry out and be unusable.

    Peel off one sheet of phyllo and lay it on on the prepared sheet pan, smoothing it out. If it tears, don't worry, just put it back together like a puzzle.

    Brush the top of this piece of phyllo with ghee, you can hold it down with your fingers if it's moving.

    Then lay another sheet of phyllo on top of the ghee. Brush this one with ghee and continue with the ghee and the phyllo until you have 8 sheets one on top of the other.

    Cooking tray of homemade Lebanese Baklava

    Fill the Phyllo

    Sprinkle half of the nut mixture on top of the 8 stacked sheets of phyllo. Spread it out as evenly as possible. Don't press too hard.

    Pick up another sheet of phyllo from your reserved stack and lay it on top of the nuts. Then brush it with the ghee. Continue stacking the sheets with the ghee in between until there are 5 altogether.

    Spread the remaining nut mixture on top of this stack.

    Lay another sheet of phyllo on top of the nuts and brush with the ghee. Do this until all the phyllo sheets are used. This top layer should be about 5 to 6 pieces of phyllo.

    Choose a very sharp knife and cut diagonally across the sheets to create diamonds or triangles. The put the pan in the oven to bake.

    The Rose Simple Syrup

    While the pastry is baking make the syrup. Put the sugar, water, and juice into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil this mixture for about 5 minutes. The sugar should be completely dissolved by this time.

    Remove from the heat and stir in the rose water. Set this aside.

    Finishing the Baklava

    As soon as you remove the Baklava from the oven, slowly pour the Rose Syrup over the entire thing. You should hear a sizzle as the syrup hits the hot pastry.

    Set the entire pan on a cooling rack and let cool before serving.

    Two plates of homemade Lebanese Baklava with Turkish Coffee

    How to Serve

    We love to serve this rich, crispy, crunchy dessert with vanilla ice cream. In Lebanon, they serve it with Turkish coffee... yummy!

    More Delicious Desserts!

    • Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
    • Easy Apple Cake
    • Panna Cotta with Mango
    • Ricotta Cake with Orange Zest
    • Blueberry Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save this RecipeSaved!

    Please leave a rating!

    4.5 from 10 votes

    Lebanese Baklava or Baklawa

    A homemade flaky, sweet and tasty treat! 
    Be sure to put the phyllo in the refrigerator the day before to defrost.
    Prep Time50 mins
    Cook Time50 mins
    Phyllo Defrost Time1 d
    Total Time1 hr 40 mins
    Course: Baking, Cookies, Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
    Keyword: Baklava, Baklawa
    Servings: 96 pieces
    Calories: 76kcal
    Author: Anna

    Special Equipment

    • Food Processor
    • 18"x13" rimmed sheet pan
    • Pastry brush

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound shelled unsalted pistachios
    • ½ cup sugar
    • 1 teaspoon rose water
    • 1 pound box of phyllo sheets, aka fillo
    • 8 ounces ghee, melted, or clarified butter

    Sugar Syrup

    • 1 ¼ cups sugar
    • ¾ cup water
    • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
    • 2 teaspoons rose water
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Baklava

    • Put the phyllo in the refrigerator 24 hours ahead of time to defrost.
    • Put the pistachios and sugar in the bowl of your food processor and pulse. 
    • After about 5 pulses, sprinkle 1 teaspoon rose water over the pistachios then continue pulsing until finely ground. Be careful with your pulsing so you don't end up with pistachio butter!
    • Heat oven to 325°.
    • Using a pastry brush, brush ghee over the surface of a rimmed sheet pan, including the sides.
    • Unroll your defrosted phyllo sheets on a smooth surface and have a piece of waxed paper or slightly damp towel ready to keep the unused pieces covered.
    • Peel off one piece of phyllo and carefully lay it flat on the bottom of the buttered pan. If it tears, it's okay, just put it back together like a puzzle. 
    • Brush some ghee over to cover the surface. You can hold the phyllo sheet down with your fingertips to prevent it from moving. 
    • Lay another sheet of phyllo over the first and brush with ghee. Continue with the phyllo and ghee until you have 8 sheets stacked up. 
    • Spread half of the nut mixture over the 8 sheets of phyllo.
    • Lay a sheet of phyllo on top of the nuts and brush with ghee. Continue stacking the phyllo until 5 sheets are stacked.
    • Spread the remaining nuts over the phyllo.
    • Lay another sheet of phyllo on top of the nuts, brush with ghee and continue with phyllo and ghee until all the sheets are used. (There should be 5 to 6 sheets in this layer.)
    • Using a sharp knife cut the Baklava into diamonds or triangles.
    • Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until light brown. 
    • While the pastry is baking make the Sugar Syrup.

    Rose Sugar Syrup

    • Put the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, the sugar should be completely dissolved.
    • Remove from heat and stir in the rose water. 
    • Set aside to cool.

    Completing the Baklava

    • As soon as the pastry is removed from the oven, slowly pour the Rose Sugar Syrup over to completely cover. And listen to the satisfying sizzle.
    • Let cool and serve with ice cream. In Lebanon they serve Baklava with Turkish coffee, yum!

    Notes

    Gr8 Do Ahead Tips:
    • The Sugar Syrup can be made up to 2 weeks ahead of time. Refrigerate until ready to use.
    • Baklava can be made up to 2 weeks ahead of time and will keep at room temperature in an airtight container. 
    Gr8 Tips:
    You can substitute walnuts and use orange blossom water instead of rose water, if you prefer.
     
    This nutritional information is only an estimate. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site.

    Nutrition Information

    Calories: 76kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 23mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 12IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @Great8Friends or tag #gr8food!

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

    « Lemon Yogurt Chicken Skewers of the Middle East
    A Middle Eastern Feast »

    Reader Interactions

    Be a Gr8 Friend and tell us what you think! Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Be a Gr8 Friend!

    Talk With Us!

    • Kyle on Ina Garten's Yummy Irish Soda Bread
    • Deb Malay on Ina Garten's Yummy Irish Soda Bread
    • Debbie on Red Cabbage Rødkål
    • Helen on Red Cabbage Rødkål
    • Debbie on Layered Vegetable Pâté Recipe
    my foodgawker gallery

    Need More Servings?

    Our recipes will do the calculation for you. Just hover over the number of servings then move the slider to the number desired. (Please be aware: this will not change pan or bowl sizes, so you may have to adjust for that.)

    It's Grilling Season!

    ThermoWorks Thermapen Mk4

    Hi, I'm Skylar! This is a fake profile talking about how I switched to a paleo diet and it helped my eczema and I grew 4". Trust me, I'm an online doctor.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • '60s Sitcoms TV Dinner Party
    • Buttery Crusted Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
    • Mixed Greens with Arugula Oil and Lemon Vinaigrette
    • Spring Pea and Arugula Soup Recipe

    You can duplicate your homepage's trending recipes section in the sidebar to reinforce the internal linking.

    We no longer recommend using a search bar, newsletter form or category drop-down menu in the sidebar. See the Modern Sidebar post for details.

    If the block editor is not narrower than usual, simply save the page and refresh it.

    Footer

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Our Party Outline

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright ©2022 Foodie Pro on the Foodie Pro Theme