Macadamia And Cinnamon Baklava - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup toasted, finely chopped macadamias
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
12 sheets phyllo dough
10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) butter, melted
None None FOR THE CINNAMON SYRUP
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 None cinnamon stick
1 tsp finely grated lemon peel

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350\u00b0F. Grease an 11 x 7 inch baking pan.
Mix macadamias, sugar, cinnamon and spice in a small bowl.
Working quickly, layer 3 phyllo sheets, brushing each layer with butter. Fold layered sheets in half crosswise. Press into prepared pan to fit.
Sprinkle 1/3 of nut mixture over phyllo. Repeat layers twice, ending with phyllo layer. Trim excess pastry. Score the baklava into 3 columns lengthwise, then into 5 crosswise. Score each square in half diagonally. Brush top with remaining butter.
Bake for 25-30 mins until golden.
For the cinnamon syrup, place 2/3 cup water, sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon peel in a small saucepan on low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Simmer, without stirring, for 6-7 mins until syrupy. Pour warm syrup over baked baklava. Let stand to cool.