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You guys, don’t fear the baklava.

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Embrace it!!

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

I know there are a good handful of you out there who may think baklava is a tricky thing to make because of all the layering, but it’s not. It’s actually a fairly simple thing to make, if you ask me.

AND it’s so delicious. I mean, it has layers of flaky buttery dough, chocolate and sweet candy bar like pecans and pistachios. What is not to love about that?

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

When I set out to make this baklava with butter rum sauce, I wasn’t sure that I REALLY wanted to make a baklava. I made one last year and didn’t want to be repeating things. But this baklava is so different. Last year’s was all about the chocolate chip cookie and yes, I still adore that recipe, but this year’s recipe is a bit more traditional.

It’s got a twist – of course. Can I ever leave anything as is? NOPE.

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

I am not going to lie, little miss Rachel Ray inspired this recipe. In her November issue she had a Candy Bar Pie recipe and it looked amazing. It was oozing with chocolate, so you know that right there got my attention. As I read through the recipe, it hit me that I should save the idea for Christmas and turn the Candy bar filling into a baklava.

I may be a bit biased, but I sort of think my idea is kind of awesome. I know, I know, way to talk myself up, but this baklava was so good and the butter rum syrup?

Perfection (and yeah, I am totally doing that thing with my fingers that the chefs in movies do when they say perfection. If you could see me you’d think I am such a dork. I kind of am.).

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Ok, but don’t let the name of this baklava fool you, there is NO CANDY in this recipe. You sort of make your own candy, but not really. Whatever, regardless, it is good, sweet, buttery and extra chocolatey.

The “candy bar” is really just a mix of boiled brown sugar and honey that you stir with some pecans and pistachios. It’s not really candy, but who cares. I think it’s sort of supposed to be like a brittle thing, but it never gets that hard, which I think is good. This way everything stays soft and gooey.

And then you add chocolate chips and layers of phyllo dough, which I am currently loving (and using too much of). See, not too complicated, and the presentation is so pretty. Holiday guests will love this and, promise, it will make you look so good.

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Speaking of holiday guests, do you guys have any yet? Our first guest arrived Sunday and three more will follow on Thursday and the big crew will arrive Saturday. WE ARE SO CLOSE. Still not sure if I will be in the barn or not, but I guess we will all find out soon. If you didn’t know this, I despise not knowing what’s to come. I am planner, type A person and the whole “up in the air” thing seems to happen to me way too much. UGH.

Mom says Thursday, we’ll see.

Anyway, it’s been really crazy here since… basically Thanksgiving. We have had at least two extra people staying with us since then and often times more. Worst part is these are not grown people, they are growing boys and all I can say is that it’s just been a lot and I am so excited for Christmas Eve to hit and to have a little break. Of course, I will be cooking, but my cousins will be here and it’s gonna be fun.

And I hear that their aunt from California is sending use some Carne Asada, so yeah, I am really excited for that too. Last Christmas I made these tacos and I am thinking those will need to be repeated. Fries and all. YUM.

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Oops. Sorry, didn’t mean to get off topic there.

Back to this delicious baklava with butter rum sauce. Well I’ve really said all there is to say, other than that it was a huge hit. If this sounds like your thing, please make it. Heck, even if you aren’t sure, make it. Everyone will love it, it’s pretty hard not to.

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Oh, and the butter rum sauce? This is not traditional, but wow, is it awesome! Maple, butter and rum. Too good.

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Rest 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 621 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Butter Rum Sauce

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. In a medium saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, cream and honey to a boil over medium-high. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans, pistachios and vanilla. Spread the filling onto the prepared baking sheet, let stand at room temperature until cool, about 15-30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Brush a 9x13-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter. Layer 10 pieces of phyllo in the dish, brushing each piece with butter before adding the next (keep the remaining dough covered with a damp towel). Gently spread 1/2 of the "candy bar" nut mixture over the phyllo dough and then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Layer another 10 pieces of phyllo on top, brushing each with butter before adding the next. Next spread with the remaining half of the "candy bar" nut mixture. Sprinkle on the remaining chocolate chips. Now add the third and final layer of phyllo dough. Layer 12 pieces of phyllo right on top, brushing each with butter before adding the next.
  • Cut into the baklava to make strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then make diagonal slices, about 1 1/2 inches apart, to create a diamond pattern. Bake until golden, about 40 to 50 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, make the syrup. Add the maple syrup, butter, vanilla (or use a vanilla bean for more vanilla flavor) and rum to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the butter has melted and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
  • Pour the syrup over the warm baklava and let soak, for at least 6 hours or overnight (I covered my pan with plastic wrap after about 2 hours of cooling). Serve each piece with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy!
View Recipe Comments

Chocolate “Candy Bar” Baklava with Butter Rum Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

The layers. The chocolate. The phyllo dough. A million times – yes!

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Comments

  1. I’m making these for my Christmas Tea this Sat and want to know if the pistachios are dry-roasted and salted and are the pecans dry-roasted or do you toast them in the oven? I couldn’t find raw, salted pistachios anywhere– only dry-toasted and salted. I don’t want to mess up on this wonderful recipe!

  2. Hey! I’m planning on making these for Thanksgiving (along with pie, for the non-pie lovers) and was wondering if you had a video of this recipe? And also, when the syrup is soaking, do you cover and place in fridge or countertop? Would you say the night before thanksgiving prepare and it would be good for 4pm the following day? So excited to make these!

    1. Hey Anna,
      So sorry I do not have a video for this recipe. You can cover and keep on the counter. Yes, I think that would be great timing! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan

  3. I’m making this tonight – when letting it soak overnight, do you soak in the fridge or on the counter? Thank you!

    1. Hi Rachel, I soak overnight on the counter. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan

  4. Ok awesome. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing anything wrong.

    Thank you for the reply. It means a lot.

    P.s. I’m on mobile & it won’t let me reply to a comment. ?

  5. 5 stars
    I made this and it was a huge hit!
    I have a question about the candy bar layer if/when you have time to answer…

    My candy bar mixture turned out to be a bit tacky to handle. When you added yours to your baklava, was the candy bar mixture hard and in one-whole piece, did you break it up into little pieces, or was it soft and tacky-like? Mine was really soft and kind of hard to spread on the phyllo.

    Any tips? Once I know the consistency of yours, I’ll adapt how long I heat the candy bar mixture for. Thank you in advance. I love your recipes.

    1. Hey Becca! My candy bar mix was soft as well. It’s a little messy, but it’s the way you want it to be! Sounds like you did everything correctly!

    1. Yes! You can make up to 4 day ahead of time. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂

  6. This looks incredible! Being Turkish, it’s awesome to find a new recipe for baklava. I can’t wait to try this! Love your blog 🙂

  7. I have definitely embraced bklava a long time ago, absolutely love it. But I think this recipe has definitely planted the idea in my head that i need to go ahed and make it myself. The rum sauce is such a lovely compliment too