Prune Cream Cheese Pastry Bars Food

PRUNE BARS

Steps:

• . Chop the prunes and then combine them with the 1cup sugar, 1teaspoon cinnamon and 1cup water. Cook until thickened, about 8 minutes on medium stirring constantly to prevent burning. Cool thoroughly.
• Cream the 1/2 cup softened butter and 1 cup brown sugar.
• Add the 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups oatmeal, 1 teaspoon salt and 1teaspoon of the cinnamon. Blend until crumbly.
• Put 1/2 the amount into a buttered 13 X 9 X 2 pan. Press down in pan.
• Spread the cooled filling over the bottom crust.
• Sprinkle the remaing crumb mixture over the filling, pressing down lightly.
• Bake for 27 minutes at 350* until light brown. Cut into squares when cooled. May be stored in the refrigerator . Let come to room temperature before serving.

PRUNE-FILLED DANISH

Steps:

• In a saucepan, bring plums and water to a boil. Cover; remove from the heat and let stand 10 minutes. Drain; reserving juice. , Unroll one tube of rolls and press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Spread with half of the frosting. Cover with plums. Combine 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon reserved plum juice; drizzle over plums. , Roll out remaining rolls into a 13-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Place over plums. Combine remaining frosting and butter with 1 tablespoon plum juice. Carefully spread over dough. , Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. Combine confectioners' sugar with 1-2 tablespoons plum juice; drizzle over cake. (Discard remaining plum juice).

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.

CREAM CHEESE SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
• Press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Spread over the crescent layer. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay them on top of the cream cheese layer. Do not press down. Pour the melted margarine over the entire pan. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is crisp and golden.

HUNGARIAN CREAM CHEESE COOKIES WITH PRUNE LEKVAR

Steps:

• Cream together the cream cheese and butter.
• To this, add the flour - in small portions by hand.
• When it comes together, turn over on a lightly floured surface and add the rest of the flour to form a dough (IT WILL BE SOFT - but it should be smooth)
• Refrigerate for about 1 hour.
• Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface.
• Cut into squares about 2 x 2 and fill center with about 1/4 tsp of the lekvar.
• Bring together opposite corners and pinch and fold over.
• Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet for about 15 - 20 minutes until lite gold at 350F (Be careful not to let them burn).
• While still warm, role in powdered sugar and let cool.
• Once cooled, repeat the powdered sugar coating once more.
• You can use any flavor lekvar or even an almond paste.
• It just has to be really thick so it doesn't run while baking.

CREAM CHEESE PASTRY

Steps:

• In a large bowl cream together cream cheese and butter.
• slowly sift in flour and salt.
• Shape into 2 balls, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight (I chill overnight) in the fridge.
• Roll out on a floured board and use as you will.