Syrup Soaked Pastries With Hazelnuts Pistachios And Pine Nuts Recipes

PISTACHIO HAZELNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, toss together the pistachio nuts, hazelnuts, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 cup sugar.
• Unroll thawed phyllo pastry, and cover with a damp towel to prevent drying and cracking. Brush a 10x15-inch jellyroll pan with melted butter using a pastry brush. Lay one sheet of pastry onto the buttered pan, and brush with more butter. Repeat until there are 8 buttered sheets of dough stacked. Sprinkle some of the nut mixture over this layer, then cover with 3 more layers of pastry, each brushed with butter. Sprinkle more of the nut mixture, then 3 layers of buttered pastry. Repeat this pattern until the nut mixture is gone, reserving 8 layers of pastry for the top. Each time a layer of pastry is added, it must be brushed with the melted butter.
• Cut the pastry into strips, then into diamonds. Pieces should be somewhat small because they are so sweet. At this point, each piece may be studded with a whole clove. Heat the remaining melted butter until boiling, and drizzle it evenly over the whole pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until evenly golden, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• While the pastry is baking, combine the remaining 3 cups sugar, water, honey, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• When the pastry comes out of the oven, immediately pour the syrup evenly over the entire pan. Be careful when pouring; the hot syrup may cause the butter in the pastry to boil up and splatter. Allow baklava to cool to room temperature before serving. Remove whole cloves from pieces before eating.

TOASTED NUT TART

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk 1 cup flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and powdered sugar in another medium bowl until pale yellow and well blended, about 3 minutes. Add egg; beat to blend, occasionally scraping bowl. Add dry ingredients in 3 batches, beating just to blend between additions. Gather dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12" round. Transfer to pan. Press onto bottom and up sides of pan. Trim dough flush with top of pan (reserve any scraps in case needed for patching crust after baking). Prick dough all over with a fork and freeze for 10 minutes.
• Line chilled tart shell with foil or parchment paper, leaving a 1" overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges of crust are just beginning to turn golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights. Patch any cracks in crust with reserved dough. Return to oven; continue baking until golden all over, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight in pan at room temperature.
• For filling:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Spread out pistachios, hazelnuts, and pine nuts on 3 separate small rimmed baking sheets. Toast nuts until fragrant and light brown, about 5 minutes for pistachios, 10 minutes for pine nuts, and 20 minutes for hazelnuts. Let nuts cool completely.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown bits form on bottom of pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Stir brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in eggs, then whisk in browned butter. Fold in nuts. Pour filling into tart shell.
• Bake tart, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set around edges and jiggles slightly in center when nudged, about 1 hour. Loosely tent foil over tart if crust gets too dark. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving. Serve with pistachio or hazelnut gelato, if desired.

SYRUP-SOAKED PASTRIES WITH HAZELNUTS, PISTACHIOS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour with 1 tablespoon oil, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, the eggs, and 1 tablespoon water and knead on medium speed until a smooth dough forms, 4 to 6 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar with the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, the lemon juice, and 3⁄4 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and keep warm.
• Heat the oven to 350°. Unwrap the dough and divide into 4 equal pieces. Using a pasta machine or working on a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 piece of dough until 1⁄16 inch thick. Cut the dough lengthwise into 1-inch-wide, 12-inch-long ribbons.
• In a 10-inch skillet, heat the remaining 2 cups oil over medium until an instant-read thermometer reads 330°. Attach the end of 1 dough ribbon to the tines of a fork in one hand and hold the other end of the ribbon in your other hand. Place the tines of the fork in the oil, keeping them against the bottom of the skillet, as if stabbing it, and slowly turn the fork clockwise, wrapping the dough around it as it fries and puffs. When you reach the end of the dough ribbon, let it fall over the spiral against the tines of the fork. Carefully remove the fork and continue frying the dough spiral, flipping once, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the pastry to a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you fry the remaining pastries, steadily maintaining the temperature of the oil.
• When all the pastries are fried, toss each one in the bowl of warm syrup and arrange on a large serving platter. Sprinkle the pastries with the chopped nuts, drizzle with the remaining syrup, and serve while hot.