1 lb. walnuts, ground
1/2 c. finely ground almonds
1 lb. unsalted butter
3 c. white crystal sugar
1 lb. thawed fillo strudel dough
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. orange juice
Pinch of cinnamon

Melt the butter over low heat. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap fillo dough and lay pan in which you will make the fillo face down over the top. Glass pans work the best because the pastry will cook evenly and be light in color. Cut the fillo to fit the pan. Rewrap the fillo that is an exact fit in plastic. You will use it to make the top layers. With the "excess, " i.e., the trimmings, line the bottom of the pan, 2 layers at a time buttering with the melted butter using a pastry brush.

Grind all the nuts together and mix in thoroughly 1 cup of sugar. Pour mixture over the fillo in the pan.

Unwrap the fillo and repeat the buttering, 2 layers at a time, EXCEPT when you place the last layers on top, do NOT butter it UNTIL you have cut through all the layers.

After cutting the baclava, pour all the remaining butter all over the top. Put the baclava into the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn the pan around in the oven, start the syrup as described below, and reset the timer for another 30 minutes.

After the baclava has been cooking for 1/2 hour you need to start the syrup. Combine 2 cups sugar with 1 cup water and take it to a rolling boil. Turn it down to a slow boil and add lemon juice, orange juice, and cinnamon, and continually stir for 30 minutes while the baclava is finishing baking.

Take baclava out of oven and quickly, but carefully, SPOON the syrup over the baclava. Let cool at least 3 hours before serving to allow time for the nuts to absorb the syrup. After cooling, cover with plastic wrap.

Baclava is a very sweet dessert and is traditionally served with strong coffee. It freezes very well. It is best prepared a day before and allowed time to cool and set.