Hungarian Butterhorns

Posted on: Dec 28, 2012        In: In the Kitchen, Recipes        With: No comments

First order of business.  Augh-h-h-h!  The computer gremlins are here again.  My post from yesterday, did not go to the email subscribers.  In that post, The Mrs. (my dear friend) shared her North Dallas home with us.  It is beautiful, and if you want to see this home tour, click on this link.  The Mrs. Home Tour

Hungarian Butterhorns – Where did I first get this recipe?  I do not know, but I have had it a long, long, long long, time.  While I would not say it is hard, it does take time.  But… I am hear to tell you that the time making these treats will be time well spent.  They are light, flaky and beyond delicious.  With a cup of tea or coffee and a Hungarian Butterhorn (or two, or three, or…), you and your friends will be happy.

Ingredients: (Yes, I know I need a food stager.  This is pathetic, but…)  Flour, salt, yeast, butter, eggs, sour cream, sugar, pecans, vanilla, and powdered sugar.  You probably have all of these in your pantry and fridge.

The dough for the butterhorns is made like a pie crust.  Mix together the flour, dry yeast, salt.

Then add butter and combine until the dough resembles small peas.

It is not ready yet.  (Honestly, I usually do this step in the food processor, and why I did not do it this time, I do not know.  I guess I was wondering if it would do better if I mixed it by hand.  I don’t think it made any difference, and it is so much easier in the food processor.)

This is almost there.

Mix together sour cream and beaten egg yolks – you are saving the egg whites for the good stuff.

Add eggs and sour cream mixture to the flour mixture until the dough just forms a ball.  It needs to come together a little more than this picture.  At this point, you can put the dough in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Now for the good stuff.  Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.  Gradually add the sugar, and vanilla.  Yummy, yummy, yummy!  Such sweet goodness.

This is important.  You use powdered sugar to dust the pastry board (instead of flour) for rolling out the dough.

Divide the beautiful rich dough into six balls.  On the powdered sugared pastry board, roll each ball into a 9 inch round.  (About the size of a pie plate.)  As you can plainly tell, I do not do round.  I try to do round, but….  It is okay.  The butterhorns are still delicious, but just not as uniform as I would like.

Remember the yummy egg whites, with sugar, and vanilla.  Now is the time to smear that goodness over the dough.  Cut each round into 8 or 10 wedges.

Sprinkle the dough with chopped pecans.  You can chop the pecans finer, and you don’t have to use this many, but I like pecans, and I like the crunch of the bigger pieces. (Maybe these pieces are a little too big.  Don’t sweat it.  When you are tired of chopping.  Stop.  It will be fine.  I bet if you bought those pieces in the little bags, they would be the perfect size.  I really am trying not to obsess over this, but sometimes it is hard.)

Starting at the outside edge, roll the wedges into crescents.  The goodness oozes out, and it is perfectly okay.

You put them in the oven til’ they are light brown.  Sweet Mother of Pearl.  They are flaky and delicious.  But, you are not finished yet.

Mix together melted butter, vanilla extract, and sifted powdered sugar to make a glaze.  I always have to thin it a little with milk.

Put a cooling rack over a foil lined cookie sheet. (Helps with clean-up.)  Spoon the glaze over each butterhorn.  I wish you could smell this goodness.  Vanilla, butter, and pecans.  Life is good.

Enjoy!

We did!

Blessings to you and yours,

Hungarian Butter Horns

By Lana Published: December 28, 2012

  • Yield: 4 - 5 dozen

A delicious pastry filled with meringue and pecans.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. To make dough:
  3. Mix like pie crust flour, yeast, salt, and butter until mixture resembles small peas. You can do this by hand or in your food processor.
  4. Combine egg yolks and sour cream.
  5. Add sour cream/egg mixture to dry ingredients and form into a ball.
  6. Divide dough into six balls.
  7. For filling:
  8. Beat 3 egg whites until stiff.
  9. Gradually add sugar.
  10. Fold in vanilla.
  11. Roll each ball of dough into a circle using powdered sugar to dust the rolling surface.
  12. Spread egg white mixture over dough.
  13. Sprinkle with plenty of chopped pecans.
  14. Cut circle of dough into 8 - 10 wedges.
  15. Roll each wedge into a crescent.
  16. Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet or baking mat.
  17. Place the baked butterhorns on a cooling rack that is over a foil lined cookie sheet. Glaze warm butterhorns.
  18. GLaze:
  19. Mix together butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Thin with milk if it is too thick.
  20. Spoon glaze over warm butterhorns.
  21. Enjoy!