Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the ½ cup melted butter in a small bowl with a pastry brush. Put the 1 cup peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat 30–60 seconds, stirring until pourable. Put the 1½ cups chocolate chips in a bowl. Thoroughly butter a 9×9" pan with some of the melted butter.
• Unwrap the phyllo dough and cut it in half so the sheets fit the 9×9" pan. Keep the unused phyllo covered with the included plastic and a damp kitchen towel at all times to prevent drying.
• Make the bottom layers: lay one phyllo sheet on your work surface. Brush the top surface of that sheet with melted butter, then lift that sheet together with the sheet immediately beneath it and place both in the pan with the buttered surface facing down (the butter will be between the two sheets). Repeat two more times so the pan has a total of six phyllo sheets (three pairs) on the bottom. Cover the remaining phyllo with the plastic/damp towel.
• Add the first filling layer: pour about 2–3 tablespoons of the warmed peanut butter onto the phyllo and spread it into an even thin layer (leave a small margin at the edges). Sprinkle a portion of the chocolate chips evenly over the peanut butter.
• Build stacked filling layers: for each additional peanut-butter layer, brush the top sheet of phyllo with melted butter, lift it together with the sheet beneath, and place the two sheets (butter side down) on top of the previous filling. Spoon about 2–3 tablespoons peanut butter onto each filling layer and sprinkle chocolate chips. Continue this sequence—phyllo pair, peanut butter, chocolate chips—until you have used all 1 cup peanut butter and have distributed the 1½ cups chocolate chips roughly evenly across the filling layers.
• Finish with top phyllo layers: after the last peanut-butter/chocolate layer, place three more phyllo pairs (six sheets total) on top using the same brush-and-place method (brush the top sheet before lifting each pair). Brush the very top sheet with remaining melted butter so the top is evenly buttered.
• Using a sharp knife, score/cut the unbaked baklava all the way through into squares or diamonds so the syrup can soak into the cuts later.
• Bake the baklava in the preheated oven about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
• While the baklava bakes, make the syrup: combine 1 cup water, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup honey, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and keep warm (do not boil aggressively) until the baklava comes out of the oven.
• When the baklava comes out of the oven, immediately and evenly pour the warm honey-sugar mixture over the hot baklava, making sure to pour into the cuts so the syrup reaches all layers.
• Let the baklava cool completely, uncovered, for several hours so the syrup is absorbed and the layers set before serving.