Recipe: Sassool's Peppermint Crunch Baklava

This holiday twist on Sassool's traditional dessert is definitely worth trying at home. If you want to skip the work, you can always buy it at both Sassool locations this holiday season.

Ingredients

• 1 pound chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 8 oz crushed peppermint crunch candy
• 8oz white chocolate

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Toss together cinnamon and walnuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.
• Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. Using a sharp knife, cut baklava (all the way through to the bottom of the dish) into four long rows, then (nine times) diagonally to make 36 diamond shapes.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes.
• While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon or orange zest; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before recutting the diamonds of baklava. Then move on to decorating with white chocolate and peppermint.
• Melt white chocolate in a double boiler and use a spoon to drizzle (generously) over the pan of baklava.
• Sprinkle the peppermint crunch candies over the melted baklava. Add more than a sprinkle if you want the baklava to be extra crunchy.
• Refrigerate to allow the candies to stick to the white chocolate.