Baklava Bites

If you know me - it should come as no surprise that I arrived in Amsterdam with a detailed, down to the minute, four day, jam packed itinerary.🤪 I had theater tickets, museum tickets and canal cruises booked, restaurant reservations made and printed maps to every photogenic park and sight worth seeing in the greater Amsterdam area.🗺️ I accounted for walking time between each event with with added time factored in for stroopwafel and gelato stops. 😋😆🍨🧇

What I didn't have was a rain plan.☔️  Normally, we would put on rain jackets, grab our umbrellas and power through our scheduled activities for the day but biking in Amsterdam - in the rain - sounded kind of miserable - and downright dangerous.😅🚴🏻  Thanks to some gentle encouragement from my ever flexible husband, we pivoted from our itinerary and headed out of the city on our rainy day.  We were hopeful that we could find a bit of sunshine - South of the city so we boarded a train for Rotterdam.🚞  

Rotterdam had a completely different personality from Amsterdam. It's modern, energetic and filled with architecture that made us stop and stare.  That's about the only reaction that is acceptable when you encounter these wonderfully tilted homes.
​We admired them.
We took pictures.
We imagined what it would be like to live inside one.🙃

Rotterdam is a city full of bold buildings and fascinating design.  We still had to dodge a few rain showers but it was totally worth it to take in the sights of this amazing city.  

One of the must see destinations in Rotterdam is Markthal.  It's an enormous, curved indoor food hall that's covered with spectacular interior artwork known as the Horn of Plenty. The colorful ceiling is filled with larger-than-life images of fruits, vegetables, flowers and food, making you feel as though you've wandered inside the world's most elaborate grocery store ceiling. 
It's part market.
Part architectural masterpiece.
A food lover's fantasy -
And a very dangerous place to visit when you're hungry.😋😆

It's packed with food.  Fresh produce.  Cheeses.  Meats.  Fish.  Breads.  Pastries.  Chocolate.  Spices.  International dishes.  Dutch specialties.  Souvenir shops. And food stands from so many different countries that I was suddenly very interested in expanding my culinary horizons. We walked away from the markthal with two important discoveries:
First, Rotterdam knows how to build a market.
Second, we have absolutely no self-control while inside one. 

Baklava isn't something that I ever expected to be tempted by in the Netherlands and yet there I was in the center of Rotterdam, reaching into the depths of my soul to find the willpower to resist the temptation to try all 6 different kinds of baklava at the market. 

Baklava is my kryptonite.  It's one of the desserts that I simply cannot resist.  I still haven't decided whether it's a benefit or a hinderance to have discovered an easy way to make them in my own kitchen without having to mess with sheets of phyllo dough.  If you're like me and have a hard time not eating an entire tray of baklava - do not make these.  They're super delicious - and addictive.😋  

Baklava Bites
1/3 cup + 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts 
1 cup pistachios
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 (1.9-oz.) packages frozen phyllo shells

In saucepan combine 2 T water, ¼ C brown sugar, honey and lemon juice. 

Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 4-5 minutes.  

Transfer to liquid measuring cup.

Chop nuts in food processor until smaller than a grain of rice. 

Reserve 1 T. nuts. 

Add 1/3 C brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, and salt to remaining nuts.

Pour butter over mixture and stir to combine. 

Spoon 1 T. nut mixture into each phyllo cup.  Press mixture down gently.

Place filled cups on silpat lined baking sheet. 

Bake 12-14 minutes at 350.

Spoon 1/2 t. syrup over each warm cup.  To serve, brush with remaining syrup and sprinkle with reserved nuts. ​

Ciao!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe