Baklava Bars

These baklava bars are a dream, made with crisp, buttery phyllo crust layered with chewy, nutty caramel flavored with orange blossom and rose.

Servings 16 bars

1 roll premade phyllo dough thawed to room temperature
200 grams browned butter warm and still liquid (you could also use regular melted butter, but the flavor of brown butter can’t be beat! It also keeps things extra crisp since all of the water in butter has been cooked off in the browning process)

38 grams butter softened
38 grams sugar
2 egg yolks
38 grams pistachios toasted and ground to a flour (I use a coffee grinder for this!)

Line the bottom and sides of a 9×9 pan with parchment paper. I recommend making a parchment sling. Don’t skip this step or you’ll never be able to get the bars out of the pan!
Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with brown butter.
Lay down one sheet of phyllo in the pan, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides of the pan so that it sticks in the butter. The phyllo sheet will only be wide enough to extend up the pan on 2 sides.
Brush the phyllo sheet with brown butter, making sure to brush up the sides.
Top with another sheet of phyllo, rotating it 90 degrees from the first sheet so that it goes up the other 2 sides of the pan.
Brush the second sheet with brown butter, brushing up the sides.
Repeat with the remaining phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with butter and rotating each sheet 90 degrees so that all 4 sides of the pan get equal coverage.

In a small bowl, combine 38 grams of butter and 38 grams of sugar with a spatula until smooth and creamy.
Add 2 egg yolks and stir until smooth. Add 38 grams of pistachio flour and mix until well combined.
Add all the frangipane to the phyllo crust and spread into a flat layer using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Set aside while you make the caramel

Preheat your oven to 350F
Melt 170 grams of butter over low heat.
Add 40 grams of sugar, 227 grams brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 85 grams of honey. Whisk to combine.
Increase the heat to medium and bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly.
Heat the caramel until it reaches 240F on a candy thermometer.
Immediately remove from heat and whisk in 45 grams of heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water.
Add 100 grams of pistachios, 75 grams walnuts, 200 grams sliced almonds and 1 tablespoon dried rose petals to the caramel and stir with a spatula until the nuts are completely coated in caramel.
Pour caramel on top of frangipane layer in phyllo crust.
Bake the baklava bars for 27 minutes at 350F. The caramel will look bubbly and not completely set.
Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours until fully cool.
Once cool, use the parchment paper to slide the sheet of bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice the bars into 16 squares.

These bars are best eaten cold! These will keep in the refrigerator, well sealed, for 2 weeks.