Baklava Cups

Baklava is a rich sweet pastry filled with nuts ..As per Wiki it is characteristic of the cuisines of the Ottoman empire and much of central and southwest Asia.It is Turkish or Greek the history is not well documented but what i can tell is its awsum to eat, its so rich and flavorful, nuts give it a very nice texture and the cinnamon gives it a wonderful flavor and the best part  its not tough to make as it seems to be.U can make it the traditional layered way too,i prefer this way as it will soak in less sugar and need less nuts therefore fewer calories ..phew can't starve our souls so can't help eating this one..

Ingredients:

• Kawan Pastry Sheets -10
• 1/2 cup Pistachios
• 1/2 cup Almonds
• 1 stick Butter (8oz)+ 2tbs
• 1-2 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 1-2 Cloves
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup sugar+ 2tbs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4cup honey
• Muffin pan

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F
2. Slightly roast the nuts in 2 tbs butter or toast them in oven and grind them coarsely(do not make a paste) in a food processor along with sugar, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla extract, u can add a tsp of lemon zest to it which i somehow didn't do.
3. Keep the pastry sheets at room temperature and butter each sheet nicely.Do one at a time and keep them covered to prevent them from getting hard.After buttering them you can cut them.
4. I used 4 pastry sheets to layer each cup, and cut into a size of 3 by 3 ,so every sheet will make 1 cup.You can vary depending on the size of your muffin pan.You can also use mini filo shells instead of this.
5. Grease the muffin pan and line in the pastry sheets , fill them with the nuts mixture and bake untill they are light golden , about 15 minutes.
6. Prepare the sugar syrup by boiling the water and adding sugar and honey to it , also add a pinch of cinnamon to it.Let it simmer til the syrup is thick, abt one thread consistency.
7. Take out the cups if they are ready  and pour 1 tsp of syrup in each cup and let it soak and repeat the process.
8. Keep it covered or refrigerated, stays good on counter top as well.If you haven't tried it yet just Indulge...