SARAGLI (BAKLAVA PINWHEELS)

Instructions

1. Begin by making the syrup. Combine the sugar, water and citrus in a saucepan. Whisk it and bring to a boil.
2. Once the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add the honey. Mix well to combine and set aside to cool completely.
3. In a large bowl, combine the nuts, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Mix very well.
4. Keep two damp kitchen towels handy. These will be important in keeping the phyllo dough moist once it comes out of the package. Phyllo dries out very quickly and begins to crumble if it is not kept moist.
5. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
6. Remove the phyllo from the package and lay it flat on a cutting board, counter or sheet pan. Cover with a lightly damp towel. Carefully count all of the phyllo sheets. This recipe makes 5 cylinders. There are usually 20-25 sheets per pack. So calculate how many sheets you will need for each cylinder. For this batch there were 20 sheets, so each cylinder was made using 4 sheets each.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Lay 4 sheets of phyllo, one on top of the other on your work surface. Lightly drizzle with butter the top layer.
9. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of the nut mixture onto the surface of the buttered phyllo and spread evenly.
10. Roll it lightly widthwise into a cylinder. Set aside and cover with a lightly damp towel until ready to slice.
11. Repeat these steps of layering 4 sheets of phyllo, lightly buttering the top layer, sprinkling with nut mixture and rolling into a long cylinder until the phyllo and nuts are all used up. Keep the filled cylinders covered under the damp towel to prevent cracking.
12. Once all 5 cylinders are made, cut them each into about twelve equal pieces, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each pinwheel on a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
13. Pour the melted butter over each pinwheel.
14. Bake for 45 minutes till 1 hour or until beautiful and golden brown.
15. As soon as they come out of the oven, pour the cooled syrup over them.
16. Notes:
17. The syrup must be completely cooled and the baklava pinwheels should be very hot. This will ensure for a perfect texture and will prevent them from becoming soggy...
18. Remove the citrus half and discard.
19. Dust generously with cinnamon.
20. This is best made 24 hours before serving so that they absorb the maximum syrup.
21. Enjoy!!