Prune And Walnut Crecents Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk, sour cream and vanilla; add to crumb mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight., Divide dough into thirds. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 10-in. circle. Combine the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle 1/4 cup over each circle. Cut each circle into 12 wedges., Roll up each wedge from the wide end and place point side down 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents. Whisk egg white until foamy; brush over crescents. Sprinkle with remaining nut mixture., Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the shortening in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Set aside 1/4 cup walnuts. Add remaining walnuts and the prunes to dry ingredients; toss until combined. Add buttermilk and mix lightly with fork until mixture clings together and forms a soft dough.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead gently 5-6 times. Divide dough in half. With lightly floured rolling pin, roll one half of dough into a 7-inch round. Cut into 4 wedges. Repeat with remaining half of dough.
• Place scones 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet. Pierce tops with tines of fork and sprinkle with reserved walnuts. Bake scones for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and dust it with 1 tablespoon of the flour.
• Toss the plums with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the brandy; set aside.
• Cream the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large bowl with 1 cup of the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift the remaining 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt together and beat into the creamed butter.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they start to foam. Do not over beat, or the cake will be tough. Add the eggs and ground walnuts to the flour and butter mixture. Mix well.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the plums on top in rings. Sprinkle with any remaining brandy-sugar syrup and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the plums) comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan and serving. Garnish with a dusting of confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Place the prunes, half the lemon juice and zest, the cinnamon stick, and bay leaves in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, then almost immediately turn down the heat to simmer for 3 - 4 minutes. Cool and let this stand overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Butter the base and sides of a 10-inch square or round baking pan.
• Cut the brioche into cubes and place in a food processor with the walnuts, then process until finely chopped.
• Put the brioche and walnut mixture in a large bowl with the nutmeg, melted butter, and 1/4 cup sugar.
• Mix well and press the mixture gently over the base of the buttered baking pan.
• Refrigerate until firm.
• To make the filling, beat the cheeses together with the remaining lemon juice and zest, the remaining sugar, and the eggs (add the latter one by one, beating well in between to combine evenly).
• Drain the prunes and cut them into small pieces. Place them all over the cheesecake base, then pour over the filling, smoothing the top.
• Bake for about an hour, until the filling has set. Cool completely before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Mix sugar and cinnamon. On a lightly floured surface, unroll crust; roll crust into a 12-in. square. Spread preserves over top; sprinkle with dates, walnuts and cinnamon-sugar., Roll up jelly-roll style; pinch seam to seal. Cut crosswise into 12 slices, about 1 in. thick. Place 1 in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Pulse butter, cream cheese, sugar, salt, and flour in a food processor just until a dough forms. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough and form into 2 balls, then flatten each ball into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, each wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Make filling:
• Pulse walnuts, prunes, sugar, cinnamon, and Sherry in food processor until nuts are finely chopped and filling forms a thick paste.
• Form and bake crescents:
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough (keep the other chilled) into a roughly 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut out rounds with floured cookie cutter. Chill scraps.
• Put 1/2 teaspoon of filling in center of 1 dough round. Brush some of egg wash halfway around pastry, near edge, then fold dough over filling, forming a half-moon shape. Pinch edges to seal. Make more crescents in same manner, rerolling scraps (but only once).
• Arrange crescents 1/2 inch apart on 2 buttered large baking sheets and lightly brush tops with egg wash. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven until tops are pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.