Kolachki

Photo: flickr user stu_spivack

Ingredients

Dough

1/2 pound Cream cheese (at room temperature)

1/2 pound Butter (at room temperature)

3 cups Flour

1 Walnut filling, below or

12 ounces Poppy seed filling (1 can)

Filling

1 pound Walnuts, finely ground

1 Egg

1 cup Sugar

Water

Preparation

Mix butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add flour and mix again until smooth. Making this dough is easy with a food processor, hard with a mixer.

Roll dough into 3 balls. Refrigerate dough to keep it from drying out.

Thedough can be refrigerated for 1-2 hours, but it is not necessary. Roll out1 ball at a time and flour lightly. Roll dough out in flour or granulatedsugar so it doesn't stick.

Cut dough into squares or circles using cookie or biscuit cutter. Add about a teaspoon of filling. Roll squares into "logs." Fold circles over and seal with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

MAKE FILLING: Mix all ingredients together. Add water to obtain a stickyconsistency.

NOTES:* Russian Cookies -

Sister'shigh school Russian teacher. I usually make this recipe at Christmas or Easter.

My favorite fillings are poppy seed and walnut. A recipe for the walnut filling is included. The poppy seed filling can be found canned (Solo brand) in either the gourmet or cake section of most grocery stores.

Yield:6 dozen Kolachki.

* The kolachki are delicate, so do not throw them in a plastic bag or pilehigh in a jar as you would cookies. The kolachki can be frozen.

Difficulty: moderate, the assembly requires nimble fingers.

Time: 30 minutes preparation, up to 2 hours cooling, 15 minutes baking.

Precision: measure carefully.

Laura Scarbroc/o David Scarbro