When I was little, every Christmas my Nana would fly out from the East Coast and stay for two weeks. It was always a magical time, and was always bummed when the every other year would hit and she’d stay at my cousin’s house instead of mine when she’d come West for her visit. One thing I’ll always remember from her visits was that she’d make Orange Honey Baklava every Christmas which became a favorite family Christmas food.
Not sure why an Irish-English woman would make a Greek pastry every Christmas, but she did and it makes me think of Christmas. Of course I’m spoiled, and while I love to eat it – will only eat what I’ve made. I guess I’ve gotten picky, as I haven’t found a recipe I like quite as much as hers.
Over the years I’ve had to adjust the original recipe to coincide with my food allergies, so here is my version and it is really tasty. Happy holidays from my family to yours.
ORANGE HONEY BAKLAVA
1 lb. filo dough, thawed
2 cups chopped raw pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp. sugar
½ lb. melted dairy free margarine
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pre-heat oven to 350’ F
Place double layers of filo in an 8×14 pan
Spread with melted dairy free margarine
Repeat six times
After sixth layer of filo & dairy free margarine, spread a mixture of seeds, cinnamon & sugar
Follow each layer of seed mixture with a double layer of filo
Repeat until all seed mixture is used
Continue to add layers of dairy free margarine and filo until all filo is used
Cut into diamond shaped pieces using a sharp knife
Bake at 300′ F for about an hour
Cool slightly and pour syrup over the top, let it sit overnight before eating (recipe for syrup follows)
SYRUP
grated rind of one orange
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
¾ cup honey (as my father grew oranges, we always used orange honey for this but you can use whatever you have on hand – orange honey is not for the faint of heart, it has a very strong flavor)
juice of one orange + enough water to = 1 cup
½ cup sugar
Boil until syrup forms a thread
Pour over baked filo immediately after removing from the oven
Allow to stand overnight before eating
Orange Honey Baklava: Favorite Family Christmas Food
Ingredients
- 1 lb. filo dough thawed
- 2 cups chopped raw pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- ½ lb. melted dairy free margarine
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350’ F
- Place double layers of filo in an 8x14 pan
- Spread with melted dairy free margarine
- Repeat six times
- After sixth layer of filo & dairy free margarine, spread a mixture of seeds, cinnamon & sugar
- Follow each layer of seed mixture with a double layer of filo
- Repeat until all seed mixture is used
- Continue to add layers of dairy free margarine and filo until all filo is used
- Cut into diamond shaped pieces using a sharp knife
- Bake at 300' F for about an hour
- Cool slightly and pour syrup over the top, let it sit overnight before eating (recipe for syrup follows)
Notes
grated rind of one orange
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
¾ cup honey (as my father grew oranges, we always used orange honey for this but you can use whatever you have on hand - orange honey is not for the faint of heart, it has a very strong flavor)
juice of one orange + enough water to = 1 cup
½ cup sugar
Boil until syrup forms a thread
Pour over baked filo immediately after removing from the oven
Allow to stand overnight before eating
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