Baklava With Cooky Filling

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Eggs	Greek	Desserts, Greek	36	Servings

INGREDIENTS

2	c	Sweet butter
1	c	Confectioners' sugar
1		Egg yolk
1	t	Vanilla or almond extract
4	c	Flour
4	c	Granulated sugar
4	c	Water
1	c	Honey
		Lemon juice to taste
1	lb	Toasted blanched almonds *
1/2	c	Zwieback crumbs
4	T	Granulated sugar
1	ds	Cinnamon
1	lb	Phyllo pastry sheets
1 1/2	c	Sweet butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS

Note: Either toasted blanched almonds, or walnut meats, or half of
each, (finely chopped) may be used.  Cooky Filling:  Cream the 2 cups
sweet butter until light.  Gradually  beat in the confectioners' sugar
and continue to beat until mixture  is fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla
or almond extract and blend well.  Work in about 4 cups flour to make a
medium-soft dough.  Set aside  and make syrup.  Syrup:  In a saucepan
combine the granulated sugar and water.  Bring  to a boil and boil for
15 minutes or until syrup is slightly thick.  Add honey and again bring
to the boiling point.  Add lemon juice to  taste, and cool.  Mix
almonds or walnuts, or a combination of the two, with zwieback, 4  T
granulated sugar, and cinnamon.  Brush 2 sheets of phyllo pastry
evenly with butter and sprinkle with nut mixture.  Place 2 buttered
sheets of phyllo on top and sprinkle with nut mixture.  Shape a
portion of cooky filling into a 1/2-inch-thick roll and place the  roll
along one edge of the pastry sheets.  Roll up loosely, cut into  2-inch
slices, and place slices in a buttered cake pan.  (Continue in  this
method until all phyllo pastry and/or cooky filling is used.)  Brush
tops of each slice with butter and bake in a 350 F oven for 20  minutes
or until lightly browned. Dip the hot baklava slices, one at  a time,
in cold syrup, allowing each piece to remain in the syrup for  a few
minutes.  From: "The Art of Greek Cookery" by The Women of St. Paul's
Greek  Orthodox Church (Hempstead, NY)  Typed for you by Karen Mintzias
Sent to me by Bill <wight@odc.net>

A Message from our Provider:

“God is humble”

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 326 Calories From Fat: 99 Total Fat: 11.7g Cholesterol: 8mg Sodium: 4.1mg Potassium: 172.7mg Carbohydrates: 55.3g Fiber: 2.7g Sugar: 32g Protein: 4.9g

Prayer Meeting Effectiveness – Part 3 (

11-15): 11. Avoid Preaching in Your Prayers! More than anything, corporate prayer is a time to bring our requests before the throne of God. Yet I’m sure too many of us have sat through group prayers where there’s a lot of talking, but at the same time very little actual prayer being accomplished. Neither God nor others in the group are overly interested or impressed by the deep theology, related circumstances, lengthy explanations or personal soliloquy behind the requests. Use our time wisely! Please focus on the specific praise or petition! Avoid “many words” (Mt. 6:7)! Use strength, not length! 12. Speak Up! Corporate prayer serves no purposes if the others assembled are unable hear and pray in agreement. Of course we need to be considerate of other prayer groups in close proximity that are sharing the same facility, but understand the balance between not overpowering them and praying loud enough for those in your assembled group to receive and understand your request. One element of the prayer meeting that tends to further this problem is the respectable reality that we pray with our heads down. Therefore a good idea is to raise your head when you pray to better project your voice and then resume a bowed position when you finish. Also be sure to speak slowly and enunciate clearly. Give even those even with hearing impairments the benefit and ability to pray in accordance with you. 13. Praise and Thank God for Answered Prayer! It’s easy to minimize or omit this aspect in corporate prayer meetings (Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2). Not only is this a key component in prayer, but it is also an encouragement to see how God is responding in our midst giving us greater confidence and faith for future prayer. Furthermore, we must remember that all things terminate not on a change in circumstance, but on God receiving the glory whether He chooses to change the circumstances or not. Keep God in focus from beginning to end! 14. Pray for the Glory of God! In our primary desire to see God glorified, chalk your prayers full with biblical substance. If we are to pray according to His will, let’s ground our prayers in the stories and statements from His Book, the Bible. Our prayers may include, but must not be limited to the temporary needs of personal comfort (physical healing, superficial trials, etc.). Actually this should only be a small portion of the meeting. Rather we must learn to pray for personal godliness (1 Tim. 4:7), faith in trials (Jas. 1:2), world evangelization (Mt. 28:18-20), exemplary testimonies (Phil. 2:14-16), ongoing joy (Phil. 4:4) self-denial (Mk. 8:34), spiritual fruit (Gal. 5:22-23), idol awareness (1 Thes. 1:9), bold gospel articulation (Eph. 6:20), willingness to suffer with Christ (Rom. 8:17), prioritizing love (1 Cor. 13:1-3), thanksgiving in everything (1 Thes. 5:18), personal ministry (Rom. 12:6), sacrificial giving (Mt. 6:19-21), power for the preached Word (2 Thes. 3:1), submission where necessary (Eph. 5:21), biblical worldviews (1 Jn. 2:15-17), filling of the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), repentance (Lk. 13:3), church unity (Eph. 4:3), spiritual wisdom (Col. 1:9), reconciled relationships (Phil. 4:2), perseverance for the saints (Eph. 6:18), spiritual growth (Col. 1:9), doctrinal purity (Tit. 2:7), qualified leadership (1 Thes. 5:12), good works (Mt. 5:16), commitment to the Word (Jos. 1:8) and prayer (1 Thes. 5:17) just to name a few. 15. Keep Your Prayer Short! Possibly few things can suck the life out of a corporate prayer meeting more than long prayers. Long prayers give others in the group the temptation to drift off. Listen to what G. Chewter said, “This is an old, old problem. The spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak. Long prayers often become a weariness to the flesh, making it hard for those listening to spiritually participate and keep up concentration, especially if it is an evening meeting.” Long prayers also exasperate others wanting to pray and discourage others from thinking they should participate. Keep people engaged. Give others the opportunity to pray. Christ’s prayers in public were short. His model prayer was one of brevity (Mt. 6:9-13). Most prayers recorded in the Bible are also brief and to the point. Can anybody put it more bluntly than C.H. Spurgeon? “It is necessary to draw near to God, but it is not required of you to prolong your speech till everyone is longing to hear the word ‘Amen.’”