Prune And Walnut Crecents Food

WALNUT-CARDAMOM CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake on the lower rack until toasted, 10 to 12 minutes; let cool completely. Pulse the nuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flour and pulse to combine; set aside.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, the vanilla, cardamom and salt; beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the walnut-flour mixture until just incorporated. Cover the dough and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Place the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a shallow bowl; set aside. Shape tablespoonfuls of dough into thin crescents and arrange 1 inch apart on 2 unlined baking sheets.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are golden on the bottom, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the pans, then carefully transfer to the bowl of confectioners? sugar and gently roll to coat. Transfer to a rack to cool completely, then reroll in the confectioners? sugar.

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 PLUM AND WALNUT BUTTER CAKE

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.

VANILLA WALNUT CRESCENTS

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.

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.

APPLE WALNUT CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 16 triangles. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon on each triangle. Place an apple quarter near the short side and roll up. Place in a lightly greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan., Press walnuts and raisins if desired into top of dough. Drizzle with butter. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar. Bake 20-24 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.