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Butterhorn Cookie

Butterhorn's are one of the pretty cookies on the tray, it has a light flaky pastry dough, filled with a melt in your mouth meringue filling loaded with dates, pecans.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Christmas, Christmas Cookie, christmas cookies, Holiday, Holiday Cookies, Yeast Dough
Prep Time 5 hours
Cook Time 9 minutes
Servings 96 cookies
Author Phyllis

Ingredients

Do Ahead of Time

  • 4 Eggs Separated
  • Powdered Sugar

Dough

  • 4 Egg yolks From separated eggs
  • 4 cups Flour
  • 1 1/4 cup Butter
  • 1 package Dry Yeast
  • 3/4 cup Sour Cream

Filling

  • 4 Egg Whites From the Separated Eggs at room temperature
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 cup Chopped Pecans
  • 1 cup Chopped Dates
  • 1 cup White Sugar

Instructions

Eggs

  1. Take your 4 Eggs and Separate, yolks into one bowl and whites into one bowl

Dough

  1. Cream butter,

  2. Add Flour, mix until you have a coarse flour mixture

  3. place yeast in a bowl and add 1-2 tablespoons warm water mix and add to the flour mixture

  4. Add Eggs to Flour mixture, blend together

  5. Place your Sour Cream into your dough and just mix till it is incorporated. Replace paddle with Dough hook if you have one. ( if not you will need to mix until it can be formed into a ball}) and knead dough until a ball forms and the dough is smooth.

  6. Take the dough and cut it into 12 balls

  7. Place into bowl, cover with Saran and place in Refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight

Filling

  1. When dough is ready you will need to make your filling. You will need to chop your pecans and dates before you start.

  2. Take your room temperature Egg whites and whip them until it has stiff peaks

  3. Add Sugar to the Egg whites slowly (you don't want to deflate the egg whites) and then add Vanilla

  4. Take the Egg white mixture and add the Pecans and Dates. You will need to FOLD these ingredients in gently, if you just mix them in you will deflate the egg whites.

Constructing the cookie

  1. Roll the ball of dough in Powder Sugar into a round circle

  2. Cut the circle into 8 wedges, (like a pizza)

  3. place a scant tsp. of filling in the center of the wide end of the slice, fold over the dough and seal edges and center, roll into a crescent shape

  4. Place the cookie directly onto the ungreased cookie sheet leaving space in between the cookies.

  5. Bake at 375° for 9 minutes

  6. Repeat rolling and filling for all 12 balls of dough

Recipe Notes

It is best if you work 1 ball of dough at a time placing the cookie on the cookie sheet and then baking.  The dough will become soft and will stick to surfaces if left on the counter or board.