Prune And Walnut Crecents Food

PRUNE AND WALNUT CRECENTS

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.

PRUNE AND WALNUT CHEESECAKE

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.

WALNUT CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Sift dry ingredients.
• Blend in Crisco or butter/Crisco mixture.
• Dissolve yeast in a little lukewarm water, add to flour mixture.
• lightly beat eggs.
• Add eggs and sour cream.
• Blend well and refrigerate over night. Dough will be moist and airy.
• Filling-Blend all ingredients together.
• To form---Take small (softball size is what I used) pieces of dough and roll out in powdered sugar (using as much sugar as needed about 1/2-1 pound) into a circle.
• Cut into 8 pie slices.
• Put filling on thick side and roll from large end to point.
• You can top the filling with some mini cips if desired.
• Place on a greased cookie sheet or parchment paper and top with cinnamon and sugar mixture adding crushed nuts if desired.
• Bake at 375 Degrees for 20-25 minutes.