Baklava Monster Fingers

The first time I tried baklava, I’m pretty sure my brain exploded.  I had never tasted anything like it but I loved it instantly.  Buttery dough, nutty pistachios, and sweet syrup are all combined in a bite-sized treat.  Who could ask for more? Since then, I eat it every time it’s available (aka every time my boyfriend’s brother sends up sweets from Lebanon) and I’ve made baklava a number of times (to make it available more frequently). 

For Halloween, I decided to try to make the rolled baklava fingers rather than the square type.  As an added bonus, and since it’s almost Halloween, I turned them into monster fingers. 

Check out my YouTube video to see how to make the baklava monster fingers.

Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

-½ cup (186 grams) honey

-½ cup (87 grams) water

-½ cup (87 grams) granulated sugar

-2 teaspoons (8grams) orange blossom water

-pinch of cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat on the stove.  Heat the mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the stove and cool to room temperature. The simple syrup will be honey-colored and transparent when finished.

While the syrup is cooling, make the baklava fingers below.

Baklava Fingers

 Ingredients:

-1 sleeve of fillo dough, thawed
-1 cup ground pistachios (135 grams)
-2 tablespoons granulated sugar (30grams)

-1 tablespoon orange blossom water (12 grams)

-⅓ pound unsalted butter (170 grams), melted

-small handful of almond slices

Optional:

- Typically, pistachios, walnuts, and pine nuts are used to make the nut filling in baklava.  However, you can use any nuts that you prefer when making this recipe.

-For added flavor, add a small amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, or cloves to the nut filling.

-For blood on the monster fingers, use raspberry/strawberry jam.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the fillo dough from the freezer approximately 30 minutes before prepping for this recipe.  This will allow the dough to thaw and come to room temperature prior to use.  Keep the dough in the plastic sleeve until the assembly step.  This will keep the dough from drying. 

Making the nut filling:

Place pistachios, sugar, and orange blossom water into a bowl and stir to combine. 

Making the baklava fingers:

Remove the thawed fillo dough from the plastic sleeve and unroll.  Place a damp (not wet) paper towel over the dough to keep it from drying out while assembling the fingers. 

Take one sheet of fillo dough, place it on the work surface, and brush melted butter over the sheet of dough.  Place a second sheet of fillo dough over the top of the first and brush with butter.  Repeat this process two more times for a total of four fillo dough sheets. 

Next, place a few tablespoons of the nut filling on the very edge of the short side (i.e., width) of the fillo dough.  Tightly roll the fillo dough over the nut filling and continue rolling until the baklava finger is approximately ¾” wide.  This was approximately half of my fillo dough sheet.  If there is excess fillo dough, cut it off with a knife and use it to assemble the next finger.  Ensure the edge of the dough is tight on the finger otherwise the finger “seam” will puff during baking and not look as nice.  If necessary, apply a small amount of butter to the edge to help it stay in place.  Cut the roll into finger length pieces. 

If making the typical baklava fingers, just put the rolled fingers in a baking dish and brush with butter.  If making the monster fingers, shape the roll to look more like the shape of a finger, use the back of a knife to create knuckle indentations, and then place the finger in a backing dish and brush with butter.  Next, add an almond slice at one tip so that it looks like a fingernail.  Press firmly to adhere the fingernail/almond.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  After removing the fingers from the oven, and while the baklava is still hot, pour a few tablespoons of simple syrup over the fingers and let it absorb into the fingers.  The amount of syrup added is completely up to you.  The more syrup added, the softer the baklava will be.  Let the fingers rest for 45-60 minutes.  At this point, you could either eat them or dip them in blood. 

For the blood, spoon a small amount of red jam (e.g., strawberry or raspberry) into a small bowl.  If the jam is too dark, add a small amount of red food coloring to brighten it.  Place it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to melt the jam slightly and then dip the non-fingernail end of the finger into the melted jam.  Voilà, you now have a monster finger covered in blood.

These turned out to be really simple to make.  Some time was involved with prepping the nuts and brushing butter but none of the steps were difficult.  They look really cool and a little gross but it’s Halloween so it’s ok.  The best part, is that these taste awesome.  I don’t like my fingers completely drenched in syrup so they were still a little crispy, buttery, and nutty…yum! I definitely ate more than I should have. Happy Halloween everyone!