patgund | Recipe of the Day

A big thank you to

nolly for these two examples of Bacony goodness.

Maple Bak'nlava

Ingredients:
1 pound frozen phyllo dough, thawed (about 20 sheets)
1 12oz package of bacon, cooked to a crisp and finely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 Cup of finely chopped walnuts or pecans
¼ Cup of brown sugar
2 tsps of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
1 tsp of salt
1½ sticks of butter (12 Tbsps) melted (for extra bacon flavor you can add a few tablespoons of the fat rendered off the cooked bacon)
¾ Cup of maple syrup
¼ Cup of water

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine bacon, nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.

Unroll the thawed phyllo dough and cover with a damp towel to keep unused layers from drying out. Brush the bottom of a baking sheet (lined with silpat) or a 9x13 baking pan with the melted butter mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in the pan and brush the entire phyllo sheet lightly with butter. Place another sheet of phyllo on top and repeat with butter and phyllo until you have 6 sheets of phyllo.

Sprinkle about 6 Tbsps of the nut mixture evenly over the top phyllo sheet. Top with a sheet of phyllo, lightly butter and top with a second sheet of phyllo. Repeat this until there are 5 layers of the nut mixture or all of the nut mixture is used up .

Use up the rest of the phyllo sheets (there should be about 6 sheets left), making sure to butter between each layer.

Brush the top and sides of the phyllo stack with butter. Using a sharp knife, score the top few layers of the baklava into parallelograms making sure not to cut all the way through to the bottom. Bake for 40 minutes until light golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan bring the maple syrup and water to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes. When the baklava is out of the oven drizzle the hot syrup mixture over the baklava and let it cool completely. Following the scorelines you made previously, cut into pieces and serve.

Bacon Baklava

ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon
* 1 cup whole blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
* 3/4 cup coarsely chopped dates
* 1 package phyllo dough
* 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1 cup pure maple syrup
* 1/2 cup water
* 2 tablespoons bourbon
* Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a skillet, fry the bacon in batches until crisp. Drain well and crumble. In a food processor, finely chop the bacon with the almonds and dates.
2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan. Lay a sheet of phyllo in the pan; trim the edges to fit and brush with butter. Repeat with 4 more phyllo sheets and butter. Spread 1 cup of the filling evenly over the phyllo. Repeat this layering of 5 phyllo sheets and bacon filling two more times. Top with 5 buttered phyllo sheets, buttering the top well.
3. With a small, sharp knife, cut the baklava into diamonds. Bake the baklava for 10 minutes. Turn the oven to 325° and bake for 1 hour longer, or until nicely browned.
4. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, maple syrup, water, bourbon and orange zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then let cool to room temperature. Pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava and let stand at room temperature uncovered overnight.