Pura Nut Pastries Recipes

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, unfold puff pastry. Roll into a 12x9-in. rectangle., In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, butter, honey, cinnamon and salt. Spread over pastry to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cut into 1/2-in. slices., Place 2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix together all ingredients except phyllo and butter.
• Brush half of a sheet of phyllo with meted butter fold other half over and brush with butter so that you have a piece of phyllo 7 1/2 x 12 inches. Sprinkle with 1 TBL of nut mixture. Beginning at one end roll phyllo as you would a jelly roll. Cut into halves making 2 rolls approximately 3 1/4 inches in length.
• Place on a greased cookie sheet (or on parchment) with smooth side of pastry up and brush with melted butter.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. While hot dip into warm Cinnamon-Honey Syrup and drain. (Don't burn your fingers!).
• Cinnamon-Honey Syrup.
• Mix all ingredients together and simmer for 30 minutes. Cook only until light brown.

Steps:

• Prepare each filling by mixing the ingredients in a bowl. For the date filling, knead the dates with the nutmeg and butter until soft. (You can warm the dates in the oven to make them easier to knead.) Break off a piece and roll into a log about 4 inches long. Bring the ends together to form a 1½-inch-diameter ring. Proceed until all are done and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the semolina, mahlab, and sugar and mix well. Pour in the melted butter and mix in with your fingertips, coating completely. Sprinkle on the yeast and sugar to incorporate. Gradually pour in the slightly warmed milk and mix until the mixture forms a dough. It should be soft and pliable, and not sticky. You may not end up using all of the milk.
• For the nut-filled maamoul, take a piece of dough of about the size of a walnut and cup it in one hand. With your thumb poke the center of the dough to make a well. Using your thumb on the inside and your index finger on the outside, work the dough upwards to thin it out gradually into a shell. Place a teaspoonful of the nut filling in the well. Bring the edges together to cover the filling completely. Smooth out and turn over the filled pastry. With a pincher proceed to decorate the shell. Make your pistachio-filled ones oval and your walnut-filled ones round. Place on a baking sheet.
• For the date-filled maamoul, take a walnut-sized piece of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand. Place a prepared date ring in the center and fold the edges over to enclose completely toward the center. Follow the shape of the date ring and pinch the center to make a hole in the middle. It will look like a filled donut. Turn the seam side down. Grab hold of the pastry in one hand and proceed to use the pincher to decorate. Place on a baking sheet.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. The maamoul should only be slightly colored. Remove and cool completely before dusting with icing sugar. Store cooled pastries in an airtight container without the icing sugar.

Steps:

• To make the puff pastry, put the flour into a mound on a work counter. Put 1 ¼ cups plus 2 teaspoons (320 ml or 11 fl. oz.) water into a jug or measuring cup and season with a pinch of salt. Make a small well in the middle of the flour and pour in the water. Start mixing the flour into the water to form a smooth dough, then cover with a dish towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
• Divide the butter into three equal portions of 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (160 g or 5 ¾ oz.). Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on a work counter. Cut the first portion of butter into thin slices and lay these on the food wrap in a 20-cm or 8-inch square. Put a second piece of plastic wrap on top of the butter and use a rolling pin to flatten the butter into a thin 20-cm or 8-inch square sheet. Repeat with the remaining two portions of butter so that you have three sheets of butter. The butter needs to be cool but pliable when added to the dough, so chill the sheets and remove each one from the fridge only 5 minutes before using it.
• Roll the dough out on a floured work counter into a 21-cm or 8 ½-inch square. Put a sheet of butter in the center of the dough, leaving a 5-mm or ¼-inch border. Fold the dough and butter in half by folding the top half down, then fold in half again by folding from left to right. Roll out into another 21-cm or 8 ½-inch square, then transfer to a baking sheet, cover and rest in the fridge for 25 minutes. Repeat with the remaining two sheets of butter. Rest the dough each time you add the butter.
• When you have used up all the butter, roll the dough into a rectangle 32 x 20-cm or 13 x 8-inches. Roll the dough tightly into a cylinder, starting from the long edge. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• If using ready-made puff pastry, roll the pastry out to a rectangle 32 x 20-cm or 13 x 8-inches. Roll the pastry tightly into a cylinder, cover and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
• To make the filling, put the sugar into a saucepan with 1 ⅓ cups (320 ml or 11 fl. oz.) water and heat over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat to medium and boil for 8-10 minutes until it reaches 241ºF on a thermometer.
• Meanwhile, put the cornstarch, egg yolks, milk, vanilla bean and seeds, and lemon rind into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Once the sugar has reached temperature, remove the pan from the heat and whisk the syrup into the milk mixture. Mix well, then pour the mixture back into the pan and put over a low heat and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until it thickens. Remove and discard the lemon rind and vanilla pod, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and leave to cool. Cover and chill until needed.
• Using a sharp knife, cut slices from the dough cylinder, about 5-mm or ¼-inch thick, making a downwards cut and not slicing. Each portion should be about 25 g or 1 oz., but this will depend on the size of your pans or pan.
• Have a bowl of cold water nearby. Arrange all the cake pans on several baking sheets and keep them in the fridge. One at a time, place a circle of pastry in the bottom of each pan, making sure the layers of butter are seen when viewed from above. This ensures the pastry will rise outwards and upwards as it bakes. Wet your thumb in the cold water and press the dough towards the outer edge of the pan, filling up to the rim. Repeat with all the pans, then put them back in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 475 F°.
• Fill the lined pans with the filling, almost to the top. Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes, or until the filling is almost set with browned spots on the top and the dough is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and dust with confectioners' sugar and ground cinnamon. Serve warm or cold. These tarts are best eaten on the day they are made.

Steps:

• Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Cut the butter into the mixture until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the dry ingredients.
• Beat the egg and milk together and pour into the well. Mix until a soft dough consistency.
• Divide the dough into two pieces and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix the honey and coffee in a mixing bowl. Add the candied peel, walnuts and nutmeg. Stir well, cover and leave for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Roll one portion of dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Using a 4 inch pastry cutter, stamp out rounds.
• Place a heaped teaspoon of filling on one side of each round. Brush the edges with milk, then fold over and press together to seal.
• Repeat with second piece of pastry until all the filling has been used.
• Place the pastries on lightly greased baking sheets, brush lightly across the top of each pastry with a little milk and sprinkle the powdered sugar across each piece.
• Make a steam hole in the center of each pastry with a skewer.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until slightly puffy and lightly browned.
• Cool on a wire rack.