Pistachio Phyllo Pastries with Spiced Apricot Honey

Ready for dessert? Crisp phyllo and crunchy, spiced nuts soaked in citrus and apricot-infused honey syrup should be it.

Combine the nuts with the sugar and spices. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

With a pastry brush, coat the inside of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter. Trim the phyllo sheets to fit your pan. Lay one phyllo sheet in the pan, tucking the ends under, and brush with melted butter. Top this with another sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat for 6 sheets. Sprinkle this sheet evenly with half of the nut mixture. Top with another butter-brushed 6 sheets and then the rest of the nut mixture. Place 6 more butter-brushed sheets on top to form the top crust. Brush the top with butter.

With a sharp knife, score the pastry into diamonds, cutting all the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the pastry is deep golden brown. While the pastry bakes, prepare the Spiced Apricot Honey:

Spiced Apricot Honey:

• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups roughly chopped dried apricots

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and boil for 8–10 minutes or until syrupy.

When the pastry comes from the oven, pour the apricot honey over the pan and allow to soak for 5 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Recipe developed by Lynne Vea