Recipe: Beigli (Hungarian Walnut Pastry/Cookies)

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From: Nancy,.SanFran

Beigli (Hungarian Walnut Pastry/Cookies)
From: David Fokos
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994

PASTRY:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 pound lightly-salted butter
1/2 cup milk -- warm (but not hot)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 package dry yeast
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 egg -- well beaten
powdered sugar -- to sprinkle

WALNUT FILLING:
1 1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons white wine
2 pounds walnuts -- chopped medium
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest (or grated lemon peel)
3 tablespoons apricot jam
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
1/2 cup golden raisins

Combine sugar and wine and bring to a boil; pour over all the other filling ingredients and mix well.

For pastry, put flour in a large bowl and cut in butter with a fork, pastry blender or food processor, until the size of peas. Make a well in the center and add warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Mix the milk, sugar, and yeast well until the yeast dissolves (do not incorporate the flour yet). Let stand for 10 minutes or until bubbles appear in the yeast mixture.

Add egg yolks and sour cream. Mix until ingredients come together. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth. Cover with a towel and let stand for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, cut the dough into 4 sections. Roll out each one, one at a time, on a lightly- floured board, until rectangular, and roughly the size of a placemat (or a little smaller). Cover each of the 4 rolled-out pastry with 1/4 of the filling. Spread the filling out to about 1 1/2 inches (38 mm) from the shorter edges of the pastry, 1 1/2 inches from one of the long edges, and about 3 inches (76 mm) from the other long edge. Fold the 1 1/2 inch long edge over onto the filling. Now fold the 1 1/2 inch short edges in towards the center of the pastry, so that the filling will not come out the ends when the pastry is baked. Continue to fold (or roll) the long edge of the pastry over onto itself until the whole thing is rolled up like a towel.

When all rolled up, place pastry on a cookie sheet, and pat down a little to form a slightly flatter pastry (i.e. not round). Brush the pastry with beaten egg, and with a knife, make about 8 half-inch cuts in the top of the pastry. Allow to stand for 20 minutes then brush again with egg.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes (or until done, i.e. cake-like, not doughy inside). If the top starts getting too dark (before the center is done) you can lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of the rolls to stop the top from browning further. When cool, slice thinly, (1/4 inch slices are good) and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

After baking, the beigli can be kept in a plastic bag in the refrigerator (if it lasts that long!), or in foil and a plastic bag in the freezer for several months.