Christmas Baklava

Christmas Baklava is a festive twist on the traditional Middle Eastern dessert — rich, buttery layers of flaky phyllo dough filled with spiced nuts and soaked in a fragrant honey syrup. 🎄✨ Add warming holiday flavors like cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest to give it that extra seasonal magic.

🎁 Christmas Baklava

🕒 Prep Time: 30–40 minutes

⏱️ Bake Time: 45–55 minutes

❄️ Cool & Soak Time: 3–4 hours

🍽️ Yields: 30–36 pieces

📝 Ingredients

Nut Filling

2 cups walnuts
1 cup pistachios or pecans
¾ cup almonds
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
Optional: zest of 1 orange

Pastry

1 package phyllo dough (16 oz), thawed
1½ cups unsalted butter, melted

Honey Syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
¾ cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
2–3 whole cloves
1 strip orange peel (or zest)
Optional: splash of orange blossom water or vanilla

👩‍🍳 Instructions

🔹 1. Prep the Nut Mixture

Finely chop all the nuts (or pulse in a food processor).
Mix with sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest.

🔹 2. Assemble the Baklava

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Place one phyllo sheet in the pan, brush with melted butter. Repeat to layer 6–8 sheets.
Sprinkle a thin layer of nut mixture (about ¾ cup).
Continue layering:
- 2 sheets phyllo + butter
- Nuts
- Repeat until nuts are used up (about 5 layers total)
Top with 6–8 more sheets of buttered phyllo.

🔹 3. Cut & Bake

Cut baklava into diamonds or squares before baking.
Bake for 45–55 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

🔹 4. Make the Syrup

While baking, combine syrup ingredients in a saucepan:

Water, sugar, honey, spices, and orange peel
Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes
Remove from heat and let cool slightly

🔹 5. Pour & Soak

When baklava is done, immediately pour the cool syrup over the hot pastry
Let it soak and cool completely, at least 3–4 hours, uncovered

✨ Optional Garnishes

Sprinkle with crushed pistachios
Dust with powdered sugar
Add edible gold leaf or cranberries for a holiday look

🧊 Storage

Store covered at room temperature for up to 1 week
Freezes beautifully (unbaked or baked)

Would you like a mini version for gift boxes, or a gluten-free variation?