Apricot Walnut Crescents

I typically don’t do a ton of holiday baking, however there are a few sweets treats that I simply can’t forego! Some call this recipe Rugelach, I call them apricot walnut crescents! It is a traditional Jewish pastry and they are made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling.

The dough is a cream cheese dough and I use it to make not only my apricot walnut crescents, but another favorite called Bowtie Brownies. I will blog about them tomorrow. It is a very soft dough that needs to be refrigerated for several hours before preparing the actual pastries.

The ingredients are simple, flour, salt, butter, cream cheese, egg, sugar, apricot preserves and walnuts. I used the reduced fat cream cheese.

In food processor place 2 c. flour, 2 T. sugar, 1/2 t. salt and 1 c. cold butter cut into 1” pieces.

Process until mixture resembles very coarse bread crumbs. Add cream cheese and  egg and process until a shaggy looking dough begins to clump around the paddle, 30-60 seconds. Remove from bowl and place on large piece of parchment paper.

Form a large disc and wrap well. Place in refrigerator 2-3 hours.

On a floured counter, roll 1/3 of the dough into a 11” circle. Spread with 2 T. apricot preserves and 2 T. ground walnuts.

With a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 pie-shaped wedges. Starting at the wide end, roll each wedge up and bend into crescent shape. Repeat with rest of dough. Place seam side down on a large cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 oven for 20 minutes. Sometimes I drizzle lightly with a powdered sugar frosting.

You can be creative on the filling ingredients, different types of preserves, cinnamon, nutmeg and just a dusting of powdered sugar over the top. We love these dainty pastries and they are always devoured when I take them to any holiday gatherings.

Apricot Walnut Crescents

2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
2 T. sugar
1 c. butter, cold and cut into pieces
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg
6 T. apricot preserves
6 T. ground walnuts

In food processor, mix flour, sugar and salt. Add cold butter and process until crumbly. Add cream cheese and egg and process until ball is formed. (30—60 seconds) Wrap dough in parchment paper and chill for several hours. On floured surface, roll 1/3 of dough into a 11” circle. Spread with 2 T. preserves and 2 T. nuts. With pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 pie-shaped wedges. Starting at the wide end, roll each wedge up and bend into crescent shape.  Repeat with rest of dough. Place seam side down on large cookie sheet and bake in 375 oven for 20 minutes. Remove to rack to cool. If desired, drizzle with powdered sugar frosting or simple dust with powdered sugar. Store in airtight containers.