Recipe - Hungarian Nut Crescents

DOUGH
1 cup Butter
1 cup Shortening
6 One fourth cup Flour
2 tablespoon Yeast
1 pt Sour cream
3 Egg yolks
1 pn Salt

FILLING
One half pound Ground walnuts
1 One fourth cup Sugar
One fourth teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 Egg whites, stiffly beaten

EGG WASH
1 Egg yolk
Few drops water
Extra sugar*

* for the pastry board

This legacy from my Hungarian grandmother links my children to their Old
World heritage in a most pleasing way! No one can eat only one of these
rich little crescents. Make sure you let the dough chill overnight to make
it easy to work with.

Editor's Note: You may want to cut recipe in half for a smaller yield.

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 350ø. 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 1/8inch
thick and sprinkle with more sugar. Cut into 2 x 2inch 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 350ø for 1520 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire
racks.

Yield: 10 dozen. Bunny Polmer, Editor, Kitchen Bazaar Times, Rockville, MD

Randy Shearer

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini