Pumpkin Baklava

Ingredients

• 3 cups white sugar
• 2.75 cups water
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 3 stripss lemon or orange peel

Instructions

1. 1

   First make the syrup: Add white sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and citrus peel to a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Let cool completely. (This can be done up to a week in advance; store the cooled syrup in the refrigerator until needed.)

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Brush a 9x13-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter.

3. 3

   Place walnut halves in a food processor and pulse several times until they resemble fine crumbs. Combine walnuts with shredded pumpkin, breadcrumbs, olive oil, sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Stir until well combined.

4. 4

   Unroll phyllo dough and remove one sheet from the stack. Cover remaining phyllo with a dampened tea towel to keep from drying out as you work. Brush the sheet of dough with melted butter and lay in the prepared baking dish; press lightly so the sheet covers the bottom of the dish and comes up the sides. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Do not worry if there are some tears in any of the sheets, this is expected and won't affect the final result!

5. 5

   Spoon the pumpkin mixture over the phyllo base and level out to the sides. Fold the overhanging phyllo over the top of the pumpkin mixture.

6. 6

   Brush another sheet of phyllo dough with melted butter and lay over the pumpkin mixture. Repeat until you've topped with 6 to 8 sheets. Use your pastry brush to scrunch the overhanging phyllo down into the sides of the baking dish. Drizzle any remaining melted butter all over the top of the baklava.

7. 7

   Using a sharp knife, cut into diamond or square shapes all the way through the top layers of phyllo; do not cut through the bottom layers.

8. 8

   Bake in the preheated oven until the phyllo is a deep golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes.

9. 9

   Remove baklava from the oven and immediately ladle the cool syrup over the hot baklava. Add one ladleful at a time until all of the syrup has been added.

10. 10

    Set aside and let rest, uncovered, for 8 hours or overnight before serving.