Nut-Filled Pastries
One of my fondest memories from childhood is baking cookies with my mom during the Christmas season. She’d pull out a tattered book filled with handwritten recipes and thumb through it to find our family’s favorite cookies. The hours we spent in the kitchen together nurtured a close mother-daughter bond that has grown over the years. And my mom not only taught me how to bake, but she instilled within me a love for baking.
Today, I’d like to share one of my favorites cookies Mom and I made together: Nut-Filled Pastries. Every Christmas for as long as I can remember I’ve made up a batch (and often more) of this flaky cookie with its sweet nut filling. In fact, if I had to choose only one cookie to make during the Christmas season, it would be this one. :0)
Nut-Filled Pastries
Pastry Dough
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup butter, softened
2 egg yolks, beaten
½ cup sour cream
Nut Filling
2 cups walnuts, ground
2/3 cup dark corn syrup or honey*
Confectioner’s sugar, to coat pastries after baking
* Note ~ Recently I made up batch of these cookies, and for half the recipe I used dark corn syrup for the filling and for the other half I replaced the corn syrup with honey. The use of honey in this recipe worked well as a healthier substitute for corn syrup. :0).
Directions:
(1) Preheat oven to 400 ° F.
(2) In a large bowl, blend flour and butter together. Stir in egg yolks and sour cream. Knead dough on a floured surface. Chill dough for at least 20 minutes.
(3) In the meantime, stir ground walnuts and dark corn syrup together. Set aside.
(4) Cut dough in half and roll each half into a ball. With each dough ball, roll out to ⅛ inch thickness. Cut out 2 inch squares. Drop ½ teaspoon of nut filling in center of each square. Starting at one corner of square, roll to opposite corner. Shape into a crescent. Place each pastry onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until pastries are lightly browned.
Nut filling for pastries
Nut-Filled Pastries ready to go in oven
(5) Allow pastries to cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Roll warm pastries in confectioner’s sugar and allow to cool. When completely cooled, roll pastries in confectioner’s sugar for a second time. Makes approximately 6 dozen pastries.
Nut-Filled Pastries
These look so delicious! I love that they are so simple, and I can almost taste the flaky pastry and nuts!
Thanks, Sarah! The flaky pastry is what makes these cookies so yummy. I’ve been considering making up a batch of the pastry and trying different fillings (like a fruit filling as you would find in a turnover), just for a new twist on this family favorite. :0)