Authentic Hungarian Walnut Rolls Food

HUNGARIAN NUT ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the sugar, salt, butter, sour cream, eggs and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for until smooth, 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, egg and cinnamon. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat; gently stir in walnuts and apple. Cool completely., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 4 portions. Roll each into a 12x10-in. rectangle. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes., Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Combine icing ingredients; drizzle over loaves.

AUTHENTIC HUNGARIAN WALNUT ROLLS

Steps:

• Mix filling in a medium bowl using only ¼ cup of the boiled milk. The mixture should be thick.
• If the filling is not spreadable, use the rest of the milk. I used all of it. It will thicken as it sits.
• Note: You can make the filling ahead of time and freeze it until you are ready to use it. Just thaw at room temperature when you are ready to use.
• Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).
• Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour. I used 5 additions and completely mixed in the flour each time. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each to ¾" thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, at least 2 hours.
• Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center.
• Dust each side of the dough with flour. Generously coat a flat surface (countertop, marble board, etc.) with granulated sugar. Plop the dough on top and press gently to push some crystals into the dough. The sugar will keep your dough elevated off the rolling surface enough to keep it from sticking. Lightly coat the rolling pin with flour throughout the process, using as little as possible.
• With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim the dough into a square and then cut the square into 16 smaller squares. My dough never rolled out into a perfect circle so I would just cut as many 1 1/2 " squares a possible, saving the scraps for later.
• Place a dollop of filling in one corner of each square. I used ½ teaspoon.
• Starting in the corner with the filling, roll the dough around the filling from corner to corner, gently pressing down as you roll. Grab the roll on both sides and pinch as you bend the roll to create a crescent shape. Gently move it to a parchment covered baking sheet, placing the Rolls no closer than 1" apart.
• Repeat with all remaining squares.
• Sprinkle the middles of the Rolls with just a touch of granulated sugar.
• Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are a golden and you can smell them. They should puff up slightly in the middle. With experience you can see when the dough is cooked. Let cool slightly on the pan on a wire rack and then move them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Repeat with all remaining dough. Refrigerate and re-roll your scraps. Amazing.
• For a more traditional cookie, you can omit the granulated sugar and dust the final, cooled cookie with powdered sugar. I will warn you that it won't be as divine.