Preheat oven to 350°F

• 3/4 pound ground pistachio nuts, roasted unsalted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 pound phyllo dough (half package)
• 3/4 cup butter (melted)
• 1 1/2 cups honey

The Athens brand of phyllo dough is packaged with 2 sealed 1/2 lb inner packs. The Safeway brand is packaged all in 1 package, so you'll want to seal the remainder freezer-safe for the next batch. Half a package is about 24 sheets 9x12 (Athens brand), or 9 double-size sheets 13x17 (Safeway brand). They're sold by weight, not by number of sheets.

1. Keep the phyllo dough covered with plastic or a kitchen towel, or it will dry out very quickly and turn brittle. Be sure to brush each individual layer of dough with melted butter as you assemble the Baklava.
2. Grind nuts in mini food processor or blender, just to coarse grind (don't turn them into powder or nut butter!). Combine ground nuts with sugar, cinnamon & cloves. Brush 12" x 16" baking dish with melted butter. Place 1 sheet phyllo dough in baking dish, brush with melted butter; if using double-size sheets, fold over to make 2nd layer. Repeat phyllo sheet & brushing (maybe folding double-size sheets) for 5-6 layers of dough. Sprinkle 1/3 of nut mixture, shake pan to distribute evenly. Repeat another 5-6 layers of phyllo sheets each brushed with butter, then another 1/3 of nut mixture. Repeat again, reserving 3-4 sheets phyllo and 2 Tbsp. nut mixture. Top with the final sheets of phyllo (buttered)
3. With a sharp knife, score the dough into 1" diamonds, cutting all the way through. (Be careful, it's easy to tear the tender dough). Sprinkle the last bit of nut & sugar mixture on top as garnish. Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown (I use a convection fan in my oven for extra crispness). Check frequently starting at 30 min. Remove from oven, cool slightly (about 5 minutes).
4. While cooling, heat 1-1/2 C honey in microwave or double-boiler just enough so it pours, just 90-95 degrees; don't get it anywhere near bubbling or you'll lose a lot of the flavors! If your honey is pourable at room temperature, you're using inferior honey :-)
5. Pour thick but pourable honey evenly over baklava, paying particular attention to filling the cuts, with an even coat on top of all pieces. Cool completely before re-cutting to separate the pieces.
6. It's at its maximum flakiness at first, but really needs to sit for 4-5 days or so for the flavors to blend and settle and for the honey to permeate. It's perfect after 5 days in the fridge, or 3 days at room temperature. Keeps in the fridge for several days or a week, or more, but I've never had any avoid consumption to find out actual shelf life. Warm to room temperature for serving.

Photos of the entire process are here: https://www.facebook.com/EricBlackCA/media_set?set=a.4372129360988.1073741828.1820645327&type=3