Tasty Easy Baklava

Pictured above:  I made this baklava for my daughter's class last week, when they were finishing up on studying a unit on Greece.
Follow this recipe and your baklava will taste just like the kind you get at a Greek restaurant.  I happened to use crushed walnuts and almonds, because they were on sale, but you could use any sort of crushed nuts.

I also topped the baklava with nuts at the end, but you can leave the last layer plain if you like.

***The part about covering the phyllo dough with a damp cloth as you assemble the layers is really, really important!  The layers of phyllo are thin and will crumble the second they dry out.  So beware!

Ingredients

• 1 pound chopped mixed nuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.
3. Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes.
4. Bake in preheated oven 50 minutes, until golden and crisp.
5. While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon zest, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
6. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered.