Polish family Butterhorns

These Polish family Butterhorns are dedicated to my mother-in-law Erika Solski who suffers from Alzheimer’s.  She made the best and I can only hope to duplicate that melt-in-your-mouth pastry.  I found a pile of her recipes and I am trying to duplicate them.  Granny made hers tiny and dainty; some of my butterhorns are small croissants.  I like to have them with afternoon tea.

Take a Break

This recipe is time-consuming.  It took me one hour and 15 minutes to roll out dough and make the crescents.  I got up early in the morning when the house was quiet.  Even my dog was asleep. I poured a coffee and had some leftover roasted chestnuts pictured here.

For an easy crescent recipe on my site go to https://recipesatmytable.com/crescent-moons-with-jam-and-nuts/

Mix the dough for the Polish Family Butterhorns as written in the description below and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

I put the dough on my counter with about a 1/2 cup of flour for dusting and kneading.  It is quite sticky, but it worked.

I cut the dough into six pieces.

Parchment paper is a necessity.  Dust generously with flour and use your hand to pat down the dough and spread in a circular motion.  Then dust the top of the dough and place another piece of parchment paper over the dough.

Use a rolling-pin and gently roll out from the centre to the edges.  I have had this rolling-pin since 1979.  It is a nice wooden one; although, I have tried others, this is my favourite.

It was easy to take the parchment paper off.

Brush the dough with egg whites and add the mixture of walnuts, brown sugar and spices.

I use an Ulu to cut the dough into wedges.  A pizza cutter will do, but my Ulu from Nunavut, where I lived for 16 years, is one of my favourite tools in the kitchen.

Roll each slice from the outside towards the centre. This was also easy to do.  Please take note of the extra flour: be generous with your dusting.

Oven ready.

Out of the oven and cooling. As you can see, I cut some a little larger.  

Note to self:  my mother in law says they should be smaller.

Ingredients for the Dough

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 4 eggs
• 4 1/2 teaspoons rapid acting yeast
• 1 tbsp lukewarm water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp sugar
• 2 cups sour cream
• more flour for dusting and rolling

Ingredients for the filling

• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cups brown sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp allspice

Other Ingredients

• egg whites to brush before baking
• white and coloured sugar

Directions

1. Start by mixing the flour and butter until it is crumbly
2. Take 1 tsp of warm water and put the yeast into it and let it stand.
3. In another bowl  blend the eggs, salt, sugar,and sour cream.
4. Add the yeast mixture to this.
5. Now mix in the flour and butter mixture.
6. Put it all into a plastic bag or wrap in plastic wrap.
7. Refrigerate overnight.
8. Divide the dough into four
9. Roll out in circles.
10. Brush with egg whites.
11. Add the filling and cut like a pie with a pizza cutter.
12. Roll into crescents.
13. Brush with egg whites before baking.
14. Some white sugar and/or coloured sugar may be added on top now.
15. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.