Recipe: Viennese Jam Pockets (using hard boiled egg yolks)

VIENNESE JAM POCKETS

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter' softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 hard-cooked egg yolks
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 tsp grated orange peel
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups thick jam or preserves
1 tbsp water
2 egg whites

Cream the butter and sugar together by beating them against the side of a bowl with a wooden spoon or by using an electric mixer at medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Rub the hard-cooked egg yolks through a sieve with a wooden spoon, then stir them, the egg yolk, orange peel, vanilla and salt into the butter-sugar mixture. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time; stir until the mixture becomes a slightly stiff dough. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about an hour.

TO SHAPE AND BAKE:
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 15- inch square about 1/8-inch thick. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut the large square into 3-inch squares. Drop a teaspoon of jam onto the center of each square. Then lift a corner of each square and fold it over the opposite corner, forming a triangle. Seal the edges by pressing them firmly with the tines of a fork, then refrigerate them for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With a pastry brush or paper towel lightly butter two 14-by-17-inch baking sheets, sprinkle a handful of flour over the butter, and knock out the excess flour by striking the inverted sheet against the edge of a table.

Arrange the chilled triangles on the baking sheets, leaving at least 1/2-inch of space between them. Gently prick the center of each triangle with a fork.

Mix the water and the egg whites together by beating them lightly with a fork. Then, with a pastry brush, coat each triangle lightly with egg white mixture.

Bake the triangles on the middle shelf of the oven for 10 or 15 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Remove them from the baking sheets with a metal spatula and cool them on a cake rack before serving.

Makes 25
Source: The Cooking of Vienna's Empire