Baklava Bites

Let's see... what have I done since the last post?

-Cleaned. Really, I did. Even found stuff that I completely forgot about.
-Read. 2½ books.
-Made brownies for my dad.

Umm... I'm drawing a blank. But I'm sure I must've done something fun and creative and productive somewhere along the way. :D

Hmm.

The first time I ever tried Baklava was in Epcot's Moroccan pavilion, back in 2004. I fell in love with it. The spices, the sticky-gooey-ness of the honey, everything. I've had some elsewhere since then, but surprisingly enough, Epcot's remains the best. (Then again, the places I had it weren't exactly um... let's just say there was a bit of a culture clash, to put it nicely)

I think I have to backpedal a bit more. The other night, I dreamed of puff pastry. I don't have much experience with it, yet I bought two sheets the next day at the store. Now it's Friday night and I'm wondering what to do with it.

In walks a favorite blog - Baking Bites... well, if a blog could walk... never mind. That's neither here nor there. After some deliberation, I went out and bought honey.

I followed the directions nearly to a T. I just minused the walnuts since my dad can't eat them. But the results were still delicious. And, oh, how yummy it made the house smell! I had a hard time putting them together as Nicole did, so I made a ravioli-type shape with them. Which leads me to all kinds of ideas of what I can do with puff pastry and ravioli shapes. :)

Oh, and my favorite part? The bite-sized-ness. It was quite easy to eat, well, five of them before dinner. ;)



Ingredients:
16-oz puff pastry, room temperature
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp. each ground cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and allspice
Pinch salt
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl stir together walnuts, sugar, spices and salt until well mixed. Add in melted butter and honey and stir well. Set aside.

Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. If you are dealing with two sheets, aim to get two 8×10-inch rectangles about 1/8-inch thick, or slightly thicker. If you are dealing with just one sheet, simply roll it out into a large rectangle, or a 16×10-inch, if you can get it.

Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut pastry into approx 2×4-inch strips (cut pastry in half, or quarters when dealing with a large sheet, then divide into strips.). Place 1 tbsp filling on one end of each strip, then fold the pastry over to make a pocket. Press pastry together to seal. If necessary, dampen fingers with water before sealing edges. Place the bites on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes, until pastries are puffed and golden. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Pastries can be served fresh from the oven or at room temperature.