Hungarian Pastry Crescents Recipes

AUTHENTIC HUNGARIAN WALNUT ROLLS

Steps:

• Mix filling in a medium bowl using only ¼ cup of the boiled milk. The mixture should be thick.
• If the filling is not spreadable, use the rest of the milk. I used all of it. It will thicken as it sits.
• Note: You can make the filling ahead of time and freeze it until you are ready to use it. Just thaw at room temperature when you are ready to use.
• Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).
• Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour. I used 5 additions and completely mixed in the flour each time. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each to ¾" thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, at least 2 hours.
• Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center.
• Dust each side of the dough with flour. Generously coat a flat surface (countertop, marble board, etc.) with granulated sugar. Plop the dough on top and press gently to push some crystals into the dough. The sugar will keep your dough elevated off the rolling surface enough to keep it from sticking. Lightly coat the rolling pin with flour throughout the process, using as little as possible.
• With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim the dough into a square and then cut the square into 16 smaller squares. My dough never rolled out into a perfect circle so I would just cut as many 1 1/2 " squares a possible, saving the scraps for later.
• Place a dollop of filling in one corner of each square. I used ½ teaspoon.
• Starting in the corner with the filling, roll the dough around the filling from corner to corner, gently pressing down as you roll. Grab the roll on both sides and pinch as you bend the roll to create a crescent shape. Gently move it to a parchment covered baking sheet, placing the Rolls no closer than 1" apart.
• Repeat with all remaining squares.
• Sprinkle the middles of the Rolls with just a touch of granulated sugar.
• Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are a golden and you can smell them. They should puff up slightly in the middle. With experience you can see when the dough is cooked. Let cool slightly on the pan on a wire rack and then move them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Repeat with all remaining dough. Refrigerate and re-roll your scraps. Amazing.
• For a more traditional cookie, you can omit the granulated sugar and dust the final, cooled cookie with powdered sugar. I will warn you that it won't be as divine.

HUNGARIAN NUT CRESCENTS

Steps:

• In a bowl, cut the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture is crumbly.
• In a separate bowl, mix the yeast into sour cream, then add egg yolks and salt.
• Combine with the flour mixture.
• Mix until smooth and the sides of the bowl are clean.
• Form into a large ball and chill, covered, overnight.
• To make filling, mix walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and stiffly beaten egg whites together in a bowl.
• To make egg wash mix egg yolk and few drops of water in a small bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Sprinkle granulated sugar onto a pastry board.
• Divide the dough into six portions.
• Work with one portion at a time, refrigerating the dough you are not using.
• Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thick and sprinkle with more sugar.
• Cut into 2 x 2-inch squares.
• Place a bit of the nut filling along one end of the square and roll up.
• Form into a crescent.
• Place seam side down on a greased cookie sheet.
• Paint with egg wash.
• Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

AUTHENTIC HUNGARIAN PASTRIES

Steps:

• Prepare the fruit filling by putting the apricots in a saucepan. Add water just to cover.Cook until soft, being very careful not to let it burn. You may have to add more water to prevent this.
• When fruit is soft, add the sugar and cook until thick. When thickened, remove from heat and puree in a food processor. Let cool slightly, then put into a freezer bag. When you are ready to use the filling just snip off the corner of the bag. (You may have extra filling left over at the end- it can be frozen for the next time).
• Prepare pastry: Mix the dough ingredients together with a pastry blender. Roll out onto parchment paper or a lightly floured board to about 1/4" thick rectangle.
• Using a sharp knife (or a pie crust wheel), cut the dough into 3" X 3" squares.
• With a sharp knife, cut the dough diagonally from each corner to within 1/2-inch of center of each square.
• Put about 1 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each square.
• Fold every other corner of the square to the center to form a pinwheel shape, overlapping the dough at the center and pushing down gently to seal in center.
• Transfer cookies to a lightly greased cookie sheet. (They dont really expand so you dont have to worry about leaving a lot of space in-between.).
• Bake at 350 for 20 minutes on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Do not let get brown or burn.
• Dust with powdered sugar when cooled.