• 1.5 cups melted clarified butter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 40 leaves phillo dough
• 4 cups finely ground nuts – your preference
• cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, etc to taste
• 1.5 cups evaporated cane juice (sugar)
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp brown rice syrup or honey

Mix butter and oil.  Cut dough to the shape of the baking pan by laying the pan on top of the stacked dough and cutting off excess.

Combine the finely ground nuts with spices.

Butter the inside of the baking dish.  Gently place one leaf of dough into the pan, fitting it carefully along the bottom of the pan (the dough is very fragile, so fold them to pick up and unfold them into the pan).  Brush with butter and oil mixture.  Continue placing sheets of phillo one at a time, buttering each one, up to 10 sheets.

Sprinkle 3 Tbsp of nut mixture on the tenth leaf.  Open 2 more sheets of dough on top of nuts, buttering each.  Repeat with the nut mixture and two more sheets until all are used up.  As soon as the last 2 sheets are used, brush with butter and oil.

With a very sharp knife, lightly score the top of the pastry lengthwise into four then draw the knife across diagonally to make diamond-shapes.  Bake at 325F for 90 minutes.

Combine the lemon, syrup and sugar in a saucepan.  Cook until the sugar dissolves.  Boil for 5 minutes, or until a drop forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water.  Remove from heat and stir water into syrup.  Cool.

When the pastry is baked, remove from oven and pour the syrup over it.  Cool to room temp and serve.