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. 

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 honey

Confectioner’s sugar, to coat pastries after baking

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-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