Nazook, Buttery Armenian Streusel-Stuffed Pastries
This is my grandmother Nina's recipe and yields about 4 dozen cookies, which seems like a lot, til you taste one, then it won't be enough!
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INGREDIENTS
Nutrition- 2teaspoons yeast
- 1teaspoon sugar
- 2teaspoons warm water
- 1⁄2cup sugar
- 1 1⁄2cups butter
- 1tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1free-range egg
- 4 1⁄2cups flour
- 8ounces sour cream
- 2teaspoons white vinegar
- 2teaspoons baking powder
- 1
- 1⁄2cup butter
- 1 1⁄2cups sugar
- 1 1⁄2cups flour
- 1
- 1
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DIRECTIONS
- Make the dough:
- Mix sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Add lukewarm water and mix. Set aside until frothy, ~2-3 minutes.
- In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and sugar.
- Measure the rest of the dough ingredients into a bowl and add the butter mixture.
- Stir and knead for 5-10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, shape each into a ball, wrap each in plastic.
- Chill in the fridge for 6 hours.
- Make the filling:
- Add a teaspoon of sugar to a small mortar and pestle, add the saffron threads and crush them to a powder.
- Then steep in hot water, maybe 5 minutes.
- In a clean bowl, measure the dry ingredients for the filling.
- Cut butter into the dry ingredients using a fork or your clean hands to a sandy consistency.
- Add the vanilla, then steeped saffron.
- Put it all together:
- Remove dough from fridge and set aside to warm to room temp, 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 F, then immediately reduce temperature to 300°F.
- Make the glaze by beating together one egg and a splash milk in a small bowl.
- Lightly dust a rolling pin and clean surface with flour.
- Unwrap one of the dough balls and roll it out to about 1/8th inch thickness.
- Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the filling over the dough and gently press filling into the dough with the rolling pin.
- Roll the dough over from one end to the other end, carefully tucking it the filling in to form a log.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Transfer the stuffed dough log to the baking sheet.
- Using a sharp knife, cut log into about 6 pieces.
- Repeat the process with another dough ball, leaving about 1/2-inch of space between the cookies as they will plump up in the oven.
- About 3 dough balls/logs will fit onto a standard cookie sheet.
- Brush the tops of the nazook with egg + milk glaze and bake for roughly 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- These pastries are best when eaten fresh from the oven. Store them in a metal cookie tin for a couple of weeks. Nazook also freezes well. Anoush!
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