Pistachio Baklawa Nests

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 25

Servings: nests

Calories: 159kcal

Author: Maureen Abood

This recipe uses one sleeve from a 14-inch box of phyllo. Recipe doubles with ease! You will need a 1/2-inch wooden or metal dowel, cut to about 13 inches long, to shape the phyllo. These can be found at any craft store, such as Michael's. Pushing the dough into an accordion on the dowel is the trick here; be sure to keep the phyllo well-covered and to mist it very lightly with water before shaping.

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US Customary - Metric

Ingredients

1/2 pound unsalted butter try cultured butter for even deeper flavor
1/2 pound phyllo 1 sleeve from a 9 x 14-inch box, room temperature
1 recipe orange blossom syrup cold
1/2 cup ground raw pistachios
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water or rose water

Instructions

Clarify the butter by melting it over low heat until completely melted. Pour the clarified butter off into a bowl, leaving the butter solids behind.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Set up the work station with one sheet of parchment paper, a 1/4 or 1/2-inch x 13" dowel, the clarified butter and a pastry brush, misting bottle filled with water, and an unlined sheet pan.
Just before beginning, open the room temperature sleeve of phyllo. Open one of the sleeves and lay the phyllo out next to your work station. Cover the phyllo with a clean kitchen towel and keep the phyllo as protected as possible as you work.
Lay one sheet of phyllo in front of you with the short side facing you. Very lightly mist the sheet with water. Brush lightly with clarified butter.
Fold the sheet up from the short side in front of you by 1 inch.
Place the dowel along the just-folded edge. Roll the phyllo on the dowel, leaving about 2 inches unrolled at the far edge. This skirt will form the base of the nest.
Make the accordion pleat. Pick up the dowel in both hands and place your hands over the ends of the rolledphyllo. Use your first fingers and thumbs to gently push the center of the dough together. Then push the outer edges of the phyllo in.
Gently pull the pleated phyllo off the dowel onto the counter and bring the ends together to form a nest. Push together the phyllo at the open end, and tamp down the phyllo in the center of the nest.
Place the nest on the unlined baking sheet and dab generously with more butter all over.
Repeat this process with as many sheets of phyllo as you like.
Bake the nests for 15 minutes, or until deep golden brown. Remove the nests from the oven and immediately drizzle cold syrup over the hot nests generously, using about 2 tablespoons of syrup per nest. Some of the syrup will run off the nests.
Allow the nests to cool for a few minutes. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, pistachios, and rose water or orange blossom water. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the mixture into the center of each nest. Serve immediately, or leave uncovered for several hours before lightly covering with wax paper. Serve within three days.

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