Wild Blueberry Baklava

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Recipe by Chrissy Tracey.

8 oz store bought phyllo dough, thawed (Athen’s brand recommended)
1 lb mixed nuts or pistachios, crushed, + more for garnish
1 tsp cinnamon
1 lb butter, melted
1 ¼ cup wild blueberries
Juice of 1 lemon, divided
2 tbsp oat milk
Zest of 1 lemon
½ cup pure cane sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup maple syrup or honey
½ cup water

OPTIONAL:
1-2 cloves and cardamom pods, ¼ tsp rosewater
Garnish – turbinado sugar, edible flowers such as rose petals, crushed nuts
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F
  2. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the nuts until there are no whole pieces remaining, and it is the texture of a coarse crumble. Alternately, pulse in the food processor until finely crushed, about 1 minute.
  3. Add blueberries, juice of ½ lemon, oat milk, and ¼ sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat. Gently mash while cooking, until juicy and aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
  4. Carefully unroll the phyllo dough until flat, and cover with a damp kitchen towelette.
  5. Arrange the Baklava: Butter a 9×13 inch oven safe dish generously, then take two layers of phyllo dough and place across the bottom of the pan. Using a pastry brush, apply a generous amount of butter atop the phyllo dough, then sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of crushed nuts evenly across the surface of the buttered phyllo. Cover with two more layers of phyllo, then add ½ of the blueberry mixture after adding the nuts, followed by another two layers of phyllo dough and nuts only, and finishing with a final layer of phyllo dough, nuts, and blueberry mixture. Make sure to gently tuck any loose phyllo dough ends while building your layers for a neat look.
  6. Cut the baklava: At this point, there should be about 6-8  layers of phyllo dough left. Place remaining layers on top, then brush with a final layer of butter. Using a sharp knife, cut the baklava into 4 even slices lengthwise, followed by 7-8 diagonal slices widthwise to create diamond shapes. Not every piece will be perfect, and that’s okay! Place baklava in the oven to cook for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown and crisp around the edges.
  7. Create the baklava syrup: While the baklava is cooking, in a small saucepan,combine remaining lemon juice, lemon zest, remaining cane sugar, vanilla extract, maple syrup or honey, water, and any additional aromatics of your choice (i.e- cardamom, cloves, rosewater). Allow to simmer on low for 10-15 minutes until the sugar has fully dissolved.
  8. When the baklava is fully baked, evenly drench it in baklava syrup mixture. Then, sprinkle with dried edible flowers and other garnishes of your choosing. Allow it to fully cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, then serve.