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Word of caution- knafi die will turn your bare hands orange. Wear food prep gloves to prevent this.
Pull apart dough strings until they are separated. Melt butter in a small pan and stir in coloring until well blended. Pour butter over dough strings and quickly blend it in using your fingers by pulling and tossing the dough until it is uniform in color and there is no white left. Divide the dough in half for bottom and top. Spread half of the dough in the bottom of a 9x13 rectangular baking dish. Press it down firmly with the palm of your hands. Combine sugar into ricotta cheese and spread the mixture evenly over the dough, first by the spoonfuls, then spread leaving no gaps. Put the rest of the knafi dough on top of the cheese evenly covering it and gently press down with your flat hand. Sprinkle roasted pinenuts on top if you prefer.
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Bake in oven at 400 degrees for approx 30 min or when the top is crunchy brown. Be making the sugar syrup in the meantime. When you take the knafi out of the oven, cut it into 2-3 in. squares using a flat square spatula by pressing its edge straight down, then bringing it up (like brownies). Do not remove them from the pan. After cutting, drizzle syrup over all the areas to completely moisten and let it set a bit.
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