Old World Butter Horns

Hotelier in Holland's Note:

Light and flaky filled cookie. One of my mother's dear friends, a woman of German heritage, shared this recipe with her more than 40 years ago. At the time, it had been in her family for more than 100 years! It has always been my favorite cookie for special occasions and still is. We use two variations for the filling: the traditional orange date nut filling provided here or, mincemeat, a family favorite, during the holiday season. The filled cookies freeze well and can be baked off straight from the freezer. For best results, be certain that the dough is thoroughly chilled before rolling out and that the filling has cooled completely before use.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 32

Yield: 32.0 cookies

Pastry ingredients

• ½ lb unsalted well chilled butter
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Filling ingredients

• ½ cup coarsely chopped nuts
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated orange rind
• ½ cup dates
• ¼ cup milk

For decoration

• powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Add salt to flour and sift if needed.
2. Use a food processor to quickly cut chilled butter and cottage cheese into flour as with making any pastry dough (process until dough forms ball). Two dinner knives will also work well, if a food processor is not available.
3. Divide dough into 4 equal parts, form into balls, wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight or for at least 4 hours.
4. Remove chilled dough balls from the refrigerator one at a time and sprinkle with flour.
5. Roll each ball into a 8-10 inch circle on a well floured surface.
6. Cut circles into 8 wedges (pie slice style).
7. Place 1 teaspoons of cooled filling near edge of wide end of wedge, roll up towards small end and form each cookie into a crescent (horn).
8. Place folded side down on ungreased cookie sheet.
9. Bake in preheated oven (400F) for 15-20 minutes.
10. Place on rack to cool and sprinkle immediately with powdered sugar.
11. FILLING.
12. Place all filling ingredients into heavy saucepan (cast iron preferred).
13. While stirring continuously, cook until it forms a thick solid sticky mass.
14. Set aside to cool thoroughly before use.