With a sugar cookie crust and a cinnamon, nut, honey and phyllo dough topping, these decadent bar cookies have all the flavors of baklava without all the work.
If you love baklava, but are intimidated by the thought of making it yourself, let me introduce you to my new favorite recipe…..Baklava Bars!
I’ve tried making baklava from scratch before, and as much as I love all those flaky, nutty, honey soaked layers, it was not worth the time and effort.
Well, these cookie bars are the perfect solution. They are about as close as you can get to the flavors of baklava without actually making baklava.
These bars have the chopped nuts, cinnamon, lemon zest, honey and even the phyllo pastry. The only difference is, everything goes on top of a sugar cookie crust.
Instead of carefully stacking layers and layers of phyllo pastry, you just crumble it on top of the bars before you bake them. So easy!
Our friend Debbie brings us the most amazing homemade baklava every Christmas, and believe me, I will never turn it down and insist that the last piece be saved for me.
But I know I’m never going to have the patience Debbie does, so this recipe is the perfect compromise for me.
Even my husband, who doesn’t like traditional baklava, claimed he likes this version, “way more,” and helped himself to several slices.
Walnuts are traditional in baklava, but they aren’t my favorite, so I went with a mixture of pistachios and pecans. Really, you could any of those nuts, or a combination of all three.
If you really want to impress your friends and family this holiday season, be sure to add these Baklava Bars to your holiday cookie trays!
Be sure to save this recipe for Baklava Bars to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Baklava Bars
- Sugar cookie mix
- Butter
- Lemons
- Eggs
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Spices: cinnamon, salt
- Frozen mini phyllo shells
- Honey
- Vanilla
Baklava Bars
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 17.5 oz. package Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
- 1/2 cup butter very soft
- Zest of one large lemon
- 1 egg
For the filling
- 3/4 cup pecans finely chopped
- 3/4 cup pistachios finely chopped
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 10 frozen mini phyllo shells
For the glaze
- 2/3 cup honey divided
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spray parchment with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together the ingredients for the cookie crust until a crumby, soft dough forms. Press the dough in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the nuts, sugar, 1/4 cup butter, cinnamon and a pinch of salt until well combined and crumbly.
- Sprinkle the nut mixture evenly over the partially baked cookie crust. Crumble the mini phyllo shells evenly over the nut mixture. Bake for an additional 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine 1/3 cup of the honey, 2 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Microwave on high until butter is melted and mixture is bubbly, 40-60 seconds. Stir in vanilla.
- Drizzle honey mixture evenly over warm bars. Cool completely. Before slicing and serving, warm the additional 1/3 cup honey and drizzle desired amount over the cooled bars.
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Nutrition
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Who Dished It Up First: Adapted from Betty Crocker
4 comments
Wendy Hampton
I love the recipe as is, but I wonder. Do you have any suggestions for a topping for a friend who is deathly allergic to nuts including coconut. Not urgent…just curious. I have not encountered this allergy before.
Danelle
Thank you. Honestly, I don’t think you could make Baklava of any kind without nuts. I’d probably just opt for something completely different.
jan
I’d love to try this recipe as I am with you and don’t have patience for making the real thing. However, I don’t buy packaged mixes. Any idea what the dry ingredient measure of the packaged cookie mix is. This would help me to come up with a scratch substitute. Also I have not seen mini phyllo shells but we do have frozen phyllo sheets available. Can you suggest an amount of sheets?
Your help is appreciated.
Kel
What a great idea!