Horns a Plenty!

'Tis the season of no sitting, fa la la la la, la la la la. For a straight jacket I will be fitting, fa la la la la, la la la la!

No, not really, but the madness has begun. The baking madness that is. Long ago, Mama Diva named this the season of no sitting ... and she's right! For me, it generally begins around Thanksgiving and lasts until January 2nd. I have a back ache for much of it and the sound of my kitchen timer haunts me in my dreams.

That being said, I really do love to bake and I especially love making Hungarian Horns. They're the first cookie I make each season and they are simply magnificent. They're tender and flaky, not overly sweet, and altogether adorable. The dough is similar to a pie crust, though not at all as persnickety. Its the most forgiving, easy-to-roll dough imaginable.

Hungarian Horns:

dough:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of butter, chilled and cut into cubes
  
• 2/3 cup sour cream (do not use low or non-fat)
• 1 egg yolk

Whisk the sour cream and egg yolk together in a small bowl until well-combined. Reserve.

Combine the flour and chilled butter cubes in the bowl of your food processor and pulse to combine, as if making a pie crust, until the butter cubes have reduced to the size of peas and a sandy texture has formed. (Alternately, you may cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter or two forks - but I prefer the food processor.)

Place the butter and flour mixture in a large mixing bowl and to it add the sour cream and egg yolk mixture. Mix well, first with a spoon and then your hands, until the dough begins to come together. It will be soft and a bit sticky, but continue packing it together with your hands to form a ball of dough, working quickly to ensure the ingredients are well-combined. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic and chill in the fridge overnight.

filling:

• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

• one egg white, lightly beaten

Combine the sugar, nuts and cinnamon in a small bowl, cover and reserve until its time to bake. (The egg white will be used to brush the cookies prior to baking, so reserve it as well.)

To bake the Horns:

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and remove @ 3 tbsp. of the sugar/nut/cinnamon mixture to a smaller bowl and reserve.

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. One at a time, roll each piece of dough out, on a floured surface, into a 12 inch round circle. Spread the dough with 1/3 of the remaining sugar/nut mixture and press the filling lightly into the dough. Using a sharp knife, cut the circle of dough into four equal quarters, then cut each quarter into four equal triangles. (See photo below.) Roll each triangle from the wide end to the point to form the horn and bend it slightly to form a crescent shape. Repeat with the remaining triangles until all the cookies have been formed.

Place the rolled cookies on a large, un-greased cookie sheet, brush each horn with the beaten egg white and top with a sprinkle of the reserved cinnamon sugar and bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

The horns will puff a bit as they bake, so leave a bit of room between them as you place them on the sheet. This recipe will yield 48 cookies. I hope you'll try them!

As I mentioned, this recipe has been in my family for three generations and it wouldn't be Christmas without them. The finished cookies freeze and defrost beautifully, and they're delightful with a cup of coffee ... or even for breakfast! To freeze, place them between sheets of waxed paper in a tightly sealed plastic container. They will keep for several weeks. Mine are going in the freezer today ... but not before I've sampled the wares.

Here they are! I apologize for the dark pictures ... it was late ... I was tired ... and covered with flour. The madness continues, more on that later in the week. For now, what, if anything, are you baking this week? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetite!