Baklava Shortbread Bars
I love a good baklava. I was turned onto a lot of mediterranean and middle eastern cuisine years ago when I worked for a Turkish family. The food the mother made was purely divine, and unlike any of the flavor combinations I had grown up with in southern Iowa. Ever since, I’ve been both curious and obsessed with learning more about how spices are used to get those intense flavors found all throughout the mediterranean, middle east, and Persian cultures.
Whenever I make a feast of dishes from these regions, my go to dessert to serve is baklava. But, if I’ve forgotten to account for it in my planning, then I find myself short on time to actually make the baklava the day before or morning of (baklava needs a lot of time to set.) Nonetheless, the craving is still there! So, I developed a shortcut way to get all of the nutty, sweet, rich flavors, but with half the actual time spent putting it together. You can make these at noontime and they’ll be ready for dinner that night!
There are multiple steps to make and assemble these bars, but don’t let that fool you. These are truly simple to whip up.
Let’s talk about making these vegan if you’d prefer. I used rich butter from grassfed cows, because it adds that rich, buttery flavor that enhances so many dishes. However, coconut oil will work beautifully and I bet the coconut undertones would be lovely with the nutty baklava topping. For the syrup I’m sticking to tradition and using honey, however maple syrup or agave should reduce just as well, though I have not tried those substitutions.
Whether you’re a baklava lover, or have never tried it in your life, give these bars a go! Serve them to your guests and they’ll be awed!! :)
Ingredients:
For the shortbread:
4 tbsp grass-fed butter, or coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut sugar*
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
For the baklava layer:
1/2 cup each raw, unsalted walnuts, pistachios, and almonds
Zest of 1 orange
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, or coconut oil
Pinch of salt
For the syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup honey, or maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut sugar*
Juice of 1 orange
1 clove, optional
Instructions:
For the shortbread:
Cream the butter and coconut sugar using an electric mixer. Add the salt, almond flour, and vanilla and mix well. Form dough into a disc, wrap in cling wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
For the baklava layer:
While the shortbread dough chills, toast the nuts. Add to a dry skillet and toast over medium low heat, stirring often. Watch very closely as the nuts can go from starting to toast to burnt very quickly. Take off of the heat once they start to smell nutty and toasted. Let cool slightly. Add the nuts and rest of baklava ingredients to a food processor. Pulse 50-75 times until the mixture resembles course crumbs and is sticking together. Pulse, do not blend. Blending can increase the heat from friction and form a paste from the butter and nuts as opposed to a crumbly mixture. Set aside.
Assemble the bars:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 baking dish and line with parchment paper for easy removal of bars. Press the chilled shortbread dough into an even layer in the dish. Top with the baklava nut mixture and firmly press to compact the nuts and ensure they hold their shape once cut. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges just start to turn golden brown. Remove from oven. Use a knife to gently score the top into 16 pieces. This will make cutting easier once the sticky bars have cooled.
Make the syrup:
Make your syrup while the bars bake. Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, then turn heat down to maintain a simmer and allow mixture to reduce by half and become thicker and syrupy. Stir occasionally to keep from burning. This process will take about 15-20 minutes. Perfect timing for your bars to bake. Once the syrup is reduced, remove the clove (if using.)
Finishing the bars:
Now comes the fun part. Once the bars are removed from the oven, drizzle 1/2 to 2/3 of the syrup over the bars, ensuring that the nut mixture is well coated. The bars will sizzle as the syrup absorbs (which is so fun for kids to watch...and adults too!) You won’t need all of the syrup, so save the rest of the syrup to pour over pancakes or waffles, or discard. Allow the bars to cool completely on a wire rack. Place in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 5 hours and up to 3 days.
Serve these cold or remove them from the fridge 1-2 hours before serving. Cut and enjoy! These will keep in the fridge for a week, and you can make them a day or two in advance, if needed.
Notes:
*If you do not have coconut sugar you can use regular cane sugar.