Pistachios
Armenian recipe preparations tend to be time-consuming. Never wanting to spend any more time in the kitchen than necessary, shortcuts had to be created for some of our family favorites.
Without a doubt, the most popular Armenian dessert is paklava (baklava to non-Armenians). Flaky, buttery layers of phyllo dough, with a center layer of chopped nuts and cinnamon, then drizzled with a simple syrup. Love it, but this takes too long, so here’s what I do to save time…
Instead of using phyllo dough sheets for this baklava, I purchase bite-sized, premade phyllo cups (15-count per box) in the freezer section of my local grocery store. What a time-saver! This works in other recipes, too.
Click here to see What Is... Baklava?
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Two 15-count packages premade phyllo cups
- 2 cups walnuts or pistachios, chopped finely
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
Heat the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, then add the lemon juice. Cool until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the phyllo cups on a baking sheet. Put 1 teaspoon or so of nut filling in each cup. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and while still hot, drizzle some of the simple syrup over each cup.
Serve warm or at room temperature. (For a neater presentation, place each phyllo cup in a mini cupcake paper liner.)