Recipe#6671

Title: BAKLAVA WITH COOKY FILLING

  From: "The Art of Greek Cookery" by The Women of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox
  Church (Hempstead, NY)
  
  Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

                        -----COOKY FILLING-----
   2       c            Sweet butter
   1       c            Confectioners' sugar
   1                    Egg yolk
   1       t            Vanilla or almond extract
   4       c            Flour
                        -----SYRUP-----
   4       c            Granulated sugar
   4       c            Water
   1       c            Honey
                        Lemon juice to taste
                        -----BAKLAVA-----
   1       lb           Toasted blanched almonds *
     1/2   c            Zwieback crumbs
   4       tb           Granulated sugar
   1       d            Cinnamon
   1       lb           Phyllo pastry sheets
   1 1/2   c            Sweet butter -- melted
  *Note: Either toasted blanched almonds, or walnut meats, or half of each,
  (finely chopped) may be used.
  
  Cooky Filling:  Cream the 2 cups sweet butter until light.  Gradually beat
  in the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until mixture is fluffy.
  Add egg yolk and vanilla or almond extract and blend well.  Work in about 4
  cups flour to make a medium-soft dough.  Set aside and make syrup.
  
  Syrup:  In a saucepan combine the granulated sugar and water.  Bring to a
  boil and boil for 15 minutes or until syrup is slightly thick.  Add honey
  and again bring to the boiling point.  Add lemon juice to taste, and cool.
  
  Mix almonds or walnuts, or a combination of the two, with zwieback, 4 T
  granulated sugar, and cinnamon.  Brush 2 sheets of phyllo pastry evenly
  with butter and sprinkle with nut mixture.  Place 2 buttered sheets of
  phyllo on top and sprinkle with nut mixture.  Shape a portion of cooky
  filling into a 1/2-inch-thick roll and place the roll along one edge of the
  pastry sheets.  Roll up loosely, cut into 2-inch slices, and place slices
  in a buttered cake pan.  (Continue in this method until all phyllo pastry
  and/or cooky filling is used.)  Brush tops of each slice with butter and
  bake in a 350 F oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Dip the hot
  baklava slices, one at a time, in cold syrup, allowing each piece to remain
  in the syrup for a few minutes.