Holiday Rolled Baklava: Warm Spices, Pistachios, Pomegranate Seeds, & Orange
The smell, taste, and look of the holidays rolled into a sticky, crunchy, sweet confection does more than tickle your senses. This holiday rolled baklava recipe focuses on holiday flavors to include pistachios, pomegranate seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar, and orange zest rolled in layers of buttered phyllo dough and coated in a honey-orange syrup. This is quite the indulgence to serve your guests or give as gifts during the holidays.
Servings: 18 large rolls
Ingredients
Honey-Orange Syrup
- 300 g (1½ cups) granulated sugar
- 79 -118 ml (⅓- ½ cup) orange juice and pulp 1 large, squeezed navel orange
- 118-157 ml (½ - ⅔ cup) water enough added to orange juice to equal 236 ml (1 cup)
- 170 g (½ cup) honey
Filling & Pastry
- 226 g (2 cups /½ lb) shelled pistachios, roasted and unsalted equals 1 lb pistachios IN shells
- 4.5 g (1½ tsp) ground cinnamon
- 1 g (½ tsp) grated nutmeg
- 1 g (½ tsp) ground cloves
- 1 tbsp orange zest from 1 large navel orange
- 74 g (⅓ cup packed) brown sugar
- ~1 cup (~130 g) pomegranate arils/seeds from 1 pomegranate
- 226 g (8 oz /2 sticks/1 cup) butter melted
- 18 sheets (1 pkg /1 lb) phyllo dough, thawed & covered use 12 sheets if using thicker homemade phyllo dough
Instructions
Zest & Juice Orange & Remove the Arils from Pomegranate
- Zest the orange and set the zest aside. Cut the orange in half and squeeze out as much juice and pulp as you can in a 1-cup measuring cup. Add enough water to total 236 ml (1 cup) total liquid.TIP: The pulp provides a burst of freshness and orange flavor in the baked baklava.
- Use a knife to score a pomegranate into 4 sections (only cut through the outer skin) from the top root to the bottom. Pull the sections apart so you don’t cut into the seeds. Place the pomegranate in a bowl of water and gently rake your fingers across the seeds to remove them to sink to the bottom. The pith and skins should float to the top. Remove the pith and skins as they release the seeds and discard them. Once all seeds are at the bottom of the bowl, skim any remaining pith off the top, drain the seeds, and place them on towels to dry until you’re ready for them in the recipe.
Make the Honey-Orange Syrup
- In a small saucepan, add sugar and stir in the orange juice and water mix. Heat on medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce the heat to medium-low with a consistent simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in honey until mixed well and melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Make the Filling
- Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Grease and set aside a 9x13-inch (3 qt) baking dish.
- In the bowl of a food processor, place the pistachios, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, orange zest, and brown sugar. Pulse until the nuts are in very small pieces.TIP: Non nut lovers appreciate smaller nut pieces.
- Spoon the pistachio mixture into a bowl and stir in pomegranate arils (seeds) until mixed well.
- In another small bowl, melt butter in the microwave by dicing and heating it for 20 seconds. Stir and continue heating in 5- to 10- second increments and stirring until melted.
Assemble the Baklava Rolls
- Open the package of thawed phyllo sheets. Keep them stacked and covered with wax paper, parchment paper &/or a damp towel to keep air from drying them out. Remove one phyllo sheet, place it on a work surface, brush the top with melted butter using a pastry brush. Repeat placing another phyllo sheet on top of the buttered one, butter it, and repeat with a 3rd phyllo sheet stacking and buttering as you go.TIPS: Commercial phyllo sheets are sold by weight and although the box says 18 sheets, you might end up with 15 or 21. I have had both! Count the sheets before you begin assembling your rolls or when you get to the 4th roll. If you only have a total of 15 sheets, use only 2 sheets for the last 2 rolls instead of 3 OR cut back to 5 total rolls. If using homemade phyllo sheets that are thicker, use 1-2 sheets for each roll instead of 3 depending on the sheet thickness. Then, following the recipe directions.
- Spread a sixth (½ cup) of the pistachio mixture evenly on the stack of buttered phyllo sheets leaving an inch border all around. Begin at a short end and roll up the stacked phyllo sheets tightly like a cinnamon roll. As you near the end, brush the roll edges lightly with butter and fold in the edges (only about an inch) like a burrito to enclose the filling and smooth the jagged edges. Then, finish rolling.TIPS: Folding in the ends creates a smooth look to the rolls’ edges and allows the rolls to fit in the pan. You can reserve ~¼ cup of the filling to use as a topping in serving the rolls to guests for an elegant dessert.
- Place the roll seam-side down in the greased baking dish brushing the roll with butter. Continue with remaining phyllo dough and filling using 3 phyllo sheets and ½ cup of filling per roll. Place rolls side-by-side touching in the pan. You should have 6 rolls total that fill the pan.TIP: If the rolls sitting in the pan begin to look dry, brush them lightly with the melted butter.
- Cut rolls crosswise completely into thirds to equal 18 pieces. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown, dry, and crispy on top.
- Remove baked baklava from the oven. Immediately, pour the honey-orange syrup evenly over the rolls until the pan is ½- ¾ full. Allow the baklava to sit at room temperature to soak up the liquid and cool for at least an hour, though longer is best. Store covered in the fridge until ready to eat. Cut through the already sliced rolls and serve.TIPS: The syrup will sizzle as it hits the hot pan. If too much syrup is poured, the baklava rolls will be too moist and will lose their crunch.
Video
Notes
To create an elegant dessert, reserve about ¼ cup of the pistachio and pomegranate filling to sprinkle over the top of the rolls when serving.
Storage Suggestions:
Store the baklava covered in the fridge for up to a week. For longer storage, wrap in plastic each roll or pair of rolls depending on how many you may eat in a sitting or give away as holiday gifts. The rolls will be sticky so wrapping them individually makes them easier to separate and portion out. Freeze them in airtight bags or container and thaw in the fridge before eating. To use for holiday gifts, store them wrapped in the freezer and remove them to give away whenever you see fit.