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Pieces of baklava on a white plate, topped with walnuts and layered with golden, flaky filo pastry.

Lebanese Baklava, Mom's Recipe Reimagined

This Lebanese Baklava is a generational recipe from my mom — the one she made for every holiday and every gathering that mattered. Her version was always perfectly flaky, fragrant from the sweetness of orange blossom water, and it’s the recipe that taught me how much love can be layered between sheets of filo.
I’ve kept her recipe close, but I’ve added a few modern upgrades of my own. The biggest one? Pouring melted ghee over the baklava after it’s cut, instead of brushing every single layer. It gives you the same rich, buttery flavor and crisp texture — but with a more even finish and a beautifully golden top. It’s a small adaptation that makes the process simpler without losing any of the soul of her original recipe.
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Prep Time:45 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour
Total Time:1 hour 45 minutes
Author: Samantha

Equipment

Ingredients

Orange Blossom Water Syrup

Prepare the Sugared Walnuts

  • 4 cups walnuts
  • 1 cup cane sugar

Lebanese Baklava Ingredients

  • 1 pound phyllo dough room temperature
  • 1 cup clarified butter (ghee) melted
  • 1 tsp Orange Blossom Water add to the melted ghee

Instructions

    I make the syrup and sugared walnuts the day before.

Orange Blossom Water Syrup

  • Boiling sugar and water in a pan to make baklava syrup before adding orange blossom water.
    In a small heavy saucepan, combine sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup thickens slightly.
  • Pouring orange blossom water into a saucepan of hot simple syrup for baklava.
    Remove from the heat and add the orange blossom water. Pre-measure to avoid extra spills into your syrup.
  • Baklava syrup ready for cooling in a heat‑proof container after boiling.
    Pour the syrup into a heatproof container and refrigerate until completely cool.

Prepare the Sugared Walnuts

  • Pulsing walnuts and sugar together in a blender to make baklava filling.
    Combine the walnuts and sugar in a food processor or blender and pulse-grind until finely mixed.

Make the Lebanese Baklava

  • A close-up of melted ghee being brushed across the bottom and up the sides of a 9×13 baking pan.
    Preheat the oven to 325℉. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and brush the bottom with ghee.
  • Cutting phyllo sheets with scissors to fit a 9×13 pan for baklava.
    Open the two sleeves of phyllo dough, unroll them, and cut them to fit the 9 x 13 pan.
  • Separating thin phyllo sheets to prepare them for layering in baklava.
    Divide the dough in half. Place the first half, cut edges down on the bottom of the pan. Cover the second half with parchment paper and a towel to keep it from drying out.
  • Spreading ground sugared walnuts evenly over layered phyllo for baklava filling.
    Spread the sugared walnuts evenly over the phyllo dough.
  • Placing the top sheets of phyllo dough over the sugared walnut filling to finish assembling baklava.
    Lay the remaining sheets of phyllo dough over the nuts. Be careful to keep the top sheets intact to create a beautiful baklava top.
  • Cutting baklava into evenly spaced squares using two fingers as a measuring guide.
    Using a sharp knife, cut the baklava into squares by making 5 lengthwise cuts and 9 crosswise cuts, holding the phyllo sheets down with your other hand as you cut carefully.
    • To cut the baklava into traditional diamond shapes: make long diagonal cuts from corner to corner, then repeat in the opposite direction to create even diamonds. Keep two fingers lightly on the phyllo to steady the layers and measure the space between cuts as you slice.
  • Spreading warm clarified butter (ghee) over assembled baklava before baking.
    Pour the melted ghee and orange blossom water mixture evenly over the baklava. Let it sit for 5-6 minutes to soak into the phyllo dough layers.
  • Freshly baked baklava in a pan, golden and crisp, just out of the oven before adding orange blossom simple syrup.
    Bake until the top is golden brown, about 60 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
  • Pouring orange blossom water–infused syrup over freshly baked baklava.
    Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately pour the chilled syrup evenly over the top. Allow it to cool at room temperature for several hours before serving.
    • The cold syrup and hot pastry create an instant temperature contrast that shocks the layers, helping them stay crisp and absorb the syrup.

Notes

Substitutes: This recipe is traditional, but here are some common alternatives—
  • Nuts: pistachios or pecans
  • Butter: instead of ghee, use a high-fat, low-moisture butter.
Recipe: I adapted my Mom's Lebanese Baklava recipe to use clarified butter (ghee) to reduce the water content compared with traditional butter, and I use the pour-over technique instead of buttering each phyllo sheet. I credit the "reimagined" updates to Yumna at Feel Good Foodie for inspiring the changes - she made this family tradition more approachable for me to make on my own. 
Storage: Cover the baklava and refrigerate for up to 10 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Baklava is an indulgence, so enjoy! 
Tray of freshly baked baklava in a 9x13 pan, cut in squares, and the top is glistening with orange blossom water syrup.