#173 Smoke Free and Sweet Baklava Cigars

This dessert is an inspiration from a recipe I read at Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade on the Food Network. I have made this my own with the addition of a mixture of nuts and making a light syrup with Orange juice and honey to pour over the little rolls converting a wonderful recipe into a total knockout dessert and a great ending to my Greek Mezze!! 
I am posting this recipe to catch up on my Greek Mezze menu that I promised ya'll earlier.... besides it would be an ideal treat for entertaining guests at Christmas this weekend...

Just like a cigar to a smoker, this cigar is a guilty pleasure providing instant gratification to anyone with a sweet tooth.  I felt like a kid again.... the sticky goeey syrup and crumbly nuts, the flaky layers will convince guests to go back for seconds, thirds and even four cigars and that too without the smoke:)

Ingredients
Butter-flavored cooking spray
1/4 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup pistachios
1/4 cup Cashew nuts
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 powdered nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup honey, divided
Orange extract- 1/4 tspn
12 sheets phyllo dough
Syrup:
1/2 cup Orange juice
1 Tblspn Honey
1 Tspn Sugar

The filling and how to roll the Cigars.....................

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with butter flavored spray. Reserve.
2. In a food processor, combine all three nuts. Pulse to coarsely chop. Add butter, cinnamon, and sugar and pulse to combine. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on a flat work surface, short side facing you. Spray with butter flavored spray. Repeat with second layer.
Spread 1/3 of nut mixture over the dough, leaving a 1-inch margin at the top and bottom.
4. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey.
5. Cover with a layer of phyllo, spray with butter-flavored spray. Repeat with second layer of phyllo. Spray with butter-flavored spray.
6.Starting from the bottom, roll up into a thin cylinder (like a cigar) to the top.
7. Seam-side down, cut crossways into 5 sections. Transfer to baking sheet, seam side down. Spray with butter-flavored spray. Repeat with second and third batch.
8. Bake until crust is evenly golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven.
9. Make a light syrup by mixing the syrup ingredients together in a small bowl, drizzle 3 tablespoons syrup over the golden rolls and serve.