# Pastries # Cannoli
Cannoli Shells
1 1/3 cup Flour
1 tbsp Butter or Shortening
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
Sweet White Wine
Oil
Sift together flower, salt and sugar. Add shortening and mix well, then add just enough wine to make a stiff but non-flaky dough. Roll dough into a ball and let sit for at least an hour, or refrigerate.
Run dough through a pasta machine or roll it out very thin (about 1/8 inch thick). Cut rolled dough into squares and roll around floured mold. Fry one at a time in deep oil or on a skillet.
Allow shells to completely cool before filling.
Cannoli Filling
Source: Philomena D'Attilo
Ricotta Cheese (1 32-oz container)
~3/4 cup Confectioner's Sugar
Dash of salt
(1/2 cup chopped roasted almonds)
(1/2 cup small chocolate chips)
(1 tbsp diced candied orange peel)
(1 tbsp vanilla)
(Rum; for flavor)
Beat ricotta cheese until smooth and fluffy, add salt and sweeten to taste with confectioner's sugar. Add one or more additions (Listed above) depending on personal preference.
Put this filling into tiny tart shells.
# Lemon Bars
Source: Cooks Illustrated Modified By: Heather Hayden, Thomas D'Attilo
**Ingredients**
Crust
2 cup (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling
3 cup (21 ounces) granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 teaspoons cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon salt
9 large eggs plus 9 large yolks
6 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 cup juice (12 lemons)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Instructions
1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Make foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in bowl. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press into even layer over entire bottom of pan (do not wash bowl). Bake crust 10 to 12 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
3. FOR THE FILLING: While crust bakes, whisk sugar, flour, cream of tartar, and salt together in now-empty bowl. Whisk in eggs and yolks until no streaks of egg remain. Whisk in lemon zest and juice. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and registers 160 degrees. Off heat, stir in butter. Strain filling through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl.
4. Pour filling over hot crust and tilt pan to spread evenly. Bake until filling is set and barely jiggles when pan is shaken, 30 to 38 minutes. (Filling around perimeter of pan may be slightly raised.) Let bars cool completely, at least 1½ hours. Using foil overhang, lift bars out of pan and transfer to cutting board. Cut into bars, wiping knife clean between cuts as necessary. Before serving, dust bars with confectioners' sugar, if using.
# Nut Roll Nut Roll Pastry Ingredients - 3 cups sugar - 3 tablespoons Crisco - 3 eggs - 2 tsp baking powder - 1 tsp baking soda - 1 cup milk - 1⁄2 tsp salt - 6 or 7 cups flour Filling Ingredients - 2lbs nuts (I use pecans but walnuts are good as well.) - 1 egg - 1 3⁄4 cups sugar - 1 cup dry bread crumbs - 1 tsp salt - 2 cups milk Directions 1. Mix all nut roll pastry ingredients together. Chill for 3 hours. 2. Roll dough out as thin as possible. 3. Spread filling over dough. 4. Roll up and place on greased cookie sheet. They should be touching and fill the entire sheet. 5. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool before cutting apart. # German Sour Cream Twists German Sour Cream Twists (from Kathy Latusick) 3 ½ C flour 1 tsp salt 1 c butter 1 pk yeast (or 1 Tbsp if you buy it in a jar) ¼ c warm water ¾ c sour cream (1/2 of a 1-pint carton) 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 1 c sugar (do not mix in) Sift flour and salt into mixing bowl. Cut in butter. Dissolve yeast in water. Stir into flour mixture with sour cream, eggs, vanilla. Mix well by hand. Cover with damp cloth and refrigerate 2 hours (can be overnight). Roll half of dough on sugared board into an oblong (8x16). Sprinkle with sugar, and fold ends toward center, ends overlapping (into 3rds). Roll again to same size. Repeat a third time. (Do not use flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking. Use sugar.) Roll to about ¼” thick. Cut into strips, 1x4. Twist ends in opposite direction, stretching dough slightly. Put in shape of horseshoe on ungreased baking sheet, pressing ends to keep shape. Repeat with rest of dough. Bake at 375 about 15 min, or until delicately browned. Take from baking sheet immediately. Makes about 5 dozen. A couple of things that I have learned: I use ½ c. sugar for each batch I roll out (half the dough). The sugar and butter melt into caramel in the oven. Take the twists from the cookie sheet as quickly as you can, or they will stick and be impossible to get off. Turn them upside down on a cloth to cool. If they are right side up, they will stick to the cloth. Your spatula will get sticky on the end. I used three spatulas today, trading them off as the caramel built up. Wash the cookie sheet and spatula immediately after taking the twists off. If you put more twists on the sheet without washing it, you will burn the caramel to the sheet. I usually balance my cookie sheet in the center of the sink and fill it with water, with the spatula, caramel end down, in the water. After a minute or so, the caramel dissolves and will wash off. Then dry and re-use the cookie sheet for the next batch. If you have a pale (silvery) cookie sheet, bake the twists for at least 14 minutes. I like them just barely browned. 15 minutes will give you a dryer, crunchier texture. If your cookie sheet is dark, the twists will brown faster. Don’t give them more than about 12 minutes. When you are finished rolling and cutting the dough, your countertop will be a gooey mess. I have tried lining the counter with Saran wrap, to make clean-up easier, but found that cutting the twists also cut through the plastic. I clean up the gooey mess with just a wet rag. If I'm baking for family, I triple the recipe. There will be none left over. Recipe doubled: 7 c. flour 2 tsp salt 2 c butter 2 pkg yeast ½ c. warm water 1 ½ c sour cream (1 pt) 4 eggs 4 tsp vanilla 2 c. sugar Recipe tripled: 10 ½ c. flour 3 tsp salt 3 c. butter 3 pkg yeast ¾ c warm water 2 ¼ c sour cream (24 oz carton) 6 eggs 6 tsp vanilla 3 c. sugar