Since coming across apple cider syrup last year I've been trying to figure out what sort of things to make with it. Cider donuts are traditional, but I'm not that much of a fan. Mixing it into whipped cream works very well, and makes a good sweet and tart filling or topping for baked goods. I've experimented with muffins, using it for a combination of the liquid, the sugar, the flavoring, and the acid for the leavening, but I haven't ended up with anything I'm happy with yet. But a few days ago I made some apple baklava that's my favorite yet!

Baklava is layers of phyllo dough (a very thin dough) separated by a fat, with nuts every few layers. After baking you pour a sweet syrup over the top. In the US people are probably most familiar with a Greek style which uses butter for the fat, walnuts for the nuts, and honey for the syrup, but there are an enormous number of regional variations.

I made two pans, one vegan (earth balance) and one not (butter). The butter one tasted a lot better; possibly there are better choices than earth balance? I used almonds for the nuts because that's what I had. For the syrup I used New England boiled cider. Very happy with how it turned out, and I plan to make it again!

(Each loaf pan used ~$1.80 of cider syrup, though if you really like it you could buy in bulk and get it down to $1.42.)