Greek Baklava

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Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Toss chopped nuts with ground cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut the whole stack in half so that halves fit into baking pan. Cover phyllo with a slightly dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan and brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of nut mixture evenly over buttered phyllo. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, and nuts, repeating this process until nut mixture is used up. You should have approximately 6 to 8 pieces of phyllo dough left. Layer these on top, buttering every two layers. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 50 minutes until phyllo is golden and crisp. Meanwhile, make the syrup. Place water and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and remove the cinnamon stick and strips of zest from the syrup. When you remove the pastry from the oven, immediately spoon warm syrup evenly over the baklava. Allow to cool. Let sit at room temperature uncovered until time to serve. Freezes well.

Note: Makes about 24 pieces, but yield depends on how small you cut it. For less waste, cut into squares and not into diamond shapes.