This cinnamony treat reminds me of baklava, but with only a few easy ingredients, it's a fraction of the work. My Aunt Adele shared the recipe with me, and I think of her whenever I make it. —Sue Falk, Warren, Michigan
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.
Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a 15x12-in. piece of waxed paper; brush with butter. Place a second phyllo sheet on top, brushing it with butter. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Sprinkle with 1/4 cup walnut mixture. Using waxed paper, roll up tightly jelly-roll style, starting with a long side, removing paper as you roll. Slice roll into 4 smaller rolls; transfer rolls to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Repeat with remaining phyllo dough and 1/4 cupfuls of walnut mixture. Bake until light brown, 14-16 minutes. Cool dish on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine all syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Drizzle cinnamon rolls with syrup; sprinkle with remaining walnut mixture.
Test Kitchen Tips
Substitute your favorite nut or combination of nuts for the walnuts. Pecans, pistachios and almonds are exceptional in this recipe.
Get creative with the spices. Instead of just cinnamon, try a mixture of cardamom, allspice and ginger. And you can never go wrong with pumpkin pie spice.
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Ceege
Jul 13, 2019
Oh my. Just came across this recipe. Sounds fabulous. I am anxious to make but have couple of questions. Can these be made the day before? Also, what about making (but not baking) and freezing them. I normally like to make this type of recipe a day or two ahead of any parties I give. These look delicious. Thank you for any suggestions or help you can give.
Judy
Jun 4, 2019
The recipe directions are not written for a novice, David! Toast walnut halves or pieces in the oven on a baking sheet or in a pie/cake pan. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Stir after 5 minutes in the oven. You can also toast in a pan on the stove using low heat. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Crush or chop nuts after roasting and cooling.
John
May 18, 2019
I've made several variations of this. I've used cardamom for the cinnamon, used black walnuts or pistachios, used canned pie filling (raspberry or apricot for the nuts when giving to someone allergic or has a dislike for nuts in general. Also have used honey and rosewater for the syrup.
ELAINE
Mar 26, 2019
Should i assume #4 Phyllo?
Renee
Mar 3, 2019
This was great! Had phyllo from another recipe and had all other ingredients. Used almonds instead of walnuts because that's what I had. I ground up the almonds and THEN toasted. Came out fine.
Syrup is supposed to be thin, I think?
It makes 24 pieces. I used 1/4 cup almond mixture on each and had plenty for topping.
They came out great and I will definitely make again!!
Susan
Feb 4, 2019
These are DELICIOUS!!! Fairly easy, and so beautiful! Phyllo dough can be tricky to work with, but these are definitely worth it!
Lucy
Jan 12, 2019
This is such a simple, easy-to-follow recipe. Being a beginner baker means that I shy away from the really complex, involved recipes but I was relieved to see a list of ingredients that I actually had on hand and then a short directive that was actually super comprehensive. The result was DELICIOUS - I never would have thought to make this before, but now I think it will be something I throw together really often. My husband and kids are raving and my husband is the PICKIEST eater ever!! He hates walnuts and when I told him that he was eating them, he didn't believe me! LOL! That's how good this is!
Just need to make a note to David, who asked a question in his review after giving only one star:
I think it's probably common sense that you should always toast your walnuts first before grounding them. Regardless of your inexperience in baking, I think it was very unfair of you to give such a low-star review based upon your own incompetence and inability rather than based upon the recipe or the result.
David
Jan 10, 2019
Are walnuts toasted then ground or ground then toasted?
robbrd
May 8, 2018
I had planned to make a different treat tonight thinking I had puffed pastry in the refrigerator. I had phyllo dough and remembered I'd saved this recipe so I gave it a go. One of my kids took a bite apprehensively thinking there was meat in it and was delightfully surprised with the sweet flavor. My son asked, "How many can I have?" after he'd already eaten 3-4. To have several kids that don't even like nuts, I'd say this is a winner since they keep going back for more. Yay!! I did not have enough of the mixture to sprinkle any on top and my syrup is rather thin. Perhaps I need to adjust the boil time since things boil at a lower temperature at high altitude.
Karlie
Mar 19, 2018
Just made these yesterday. They came out fantastic! ... and i am definitely not a skilled baker. Couldn't find ground walnuts so I bought diced and rolled them with my rolling pin a bit. They could have been rolled a little tighter but like I said I'm no pro and I didnt have the wax paper. Ran out of the nut/cinnamon/sugar mixture so there was none to sprinkle on top but no one was the wiser. The syrup didnt get thick like I was expecting, even after cooking it a bit longer than called for but worked just fine. I had to keep my kids and husband from eating them before I could get the syrup on them. Husband said "these taste like baklava" and I read him the description lol! Thanks TOH!
Reviews
Oh my. Just came across this recipe. Sounds fabulous. I am anxious to make but have couple of questions. Can these be made the day before? Also, what about making (but not baking) and freezing them. I normally like to make this type of recipe a day or two ahead of any parties I give. These look delicious. Thank you for any suggestions or help you can give.
The recipe directions are not written for a novice, David! Toast walnut halves or pieces in the oven on a baking sheet or in a pie/cake pan. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Stir after 5 minutes in the oven. You can also toast in a pan on the stove using low heat. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Crush or chop nuts after roasting and cooling.
I've made several variations of this. I've used cardamom for the cinnamon, used black walnuts or pistachios, used canned pie filling (raspberry or apricot for the nuts when giving to someone allergic or has a dislike for nuts in general. Also have used honey and rosewater for the syrup.
Should i assume #4 Phyllo?
This was great! Had phyllo from another recipe and had all other ingredients. Used almonds instead of walnuts because that's what I had. I ground up the almonds and THEN toasted. Came out fine. Syrup is supposed to be thin, I think? It makes 24 pieces. I used 1/4 cup almond mixture on each and had plenty for topping. They came out great and I will definitely make again!!
These are DELICIOUS!!! Fairly easy, and so beautiful! Phyllo dough can be tricky to work with, but these are definitely worth it!
This is such a simple, easy-to-follow recipe. Being a beginner baker means that I shy away from the really complex, involved recipes but I was relieved to see a list of ingredients that I actually had on hand and then a short directive that was actually super comprehensive. The result was DELICIOUS - I never would have thought to make this before, but now I think it will be something I throw together really often. My husband and kids are raving and my husband is the PICKIEST eater ever!! He hates walnuts and when I told him that he was eating them, he didn't believe me! LOL! That's how good this is! Just need to make a note to David, who asked a question in his review after giving only one star: I think it's probably common sense that you should always toast your walnuts first before grounding them. Regardless of your inexperience in baking, I think it was very unfair of you to give such a low-star review based upon your own incompetence and inability rather than based upon the recipe or the result.
Are walnuts toasted then ground or ground then toasted?
I had planned to make a different treat tonight thinking I had puffed pastry in the refrigerator. I had phyllo dough and remembered I'd saved this recipe so I gave it a go. One of my kids took a bite apprehensively thinking there was meat in it and was delightfully surprised with the sweet flavor. My son asked, "How many can I have?" after he'd already eaten 3-4. To have several kids that don't even like nuts, I'd say this is a winner since they keep going back for more. Yay!! I did not have enough of the mixture to sprinkle any on top and my syrup is rather thin. Perhaps I need to adjust the boil time since things boil at a lower temperature at high altitude.
Just made these yesterday. They came out fantastic! ... and i am definitely not a skilled baker. Couldn't find ground walnuts so I bought diced and rolled them with my rolling pin a bit. They could have been rolled a little tighter but like I said I'm no pro and I didnt have the wax paper. Ran out of the nut/cinnamon/sugar mixture so there was none to sprinkle on top but no one was the wiser. The syrup didnt get thick like I was expecting, even after cooking it a bit longer than called for but worked just fine. I had to keep my kids and husband from eating them before I could get the syrup on them. Husband said "these taste like baklava" and I read him the description lol! Thanks TOH!