Sunday, August 25, 2013

BUTTERHORNS


Note: You should only put yourself through the torture of making these if you lose a bet or as a form of bribery.  You may laugh, but after you make them once you'll understand why.

Dough:
          1/2 c. Sugar
          1/2 c. Margarine, softened (use margarine with higher oil percentage and therefore less water.  You could also use butter, but it's more expensive.)
          1 T. Salt
          2 eggs
          1/4 t. Vanilla
          6 c. Flour (start with just 2-3 at first)
          1/3 c. Dry milk dissolved in 2 c. Cold Milk or water
          3 T. Dry yeast dissolved in 1/2 warm water
Mix in order given.  Knead in bowl until ingredients are well mixed.  Only use enough flour to make dough very tacky and soft.  On a well floured counter, place dough and roll out to a 16x20 inch rectangle.  Spread 2/3 of the rectangle with 3 cubes softened margarine.  (Don't use butter, it will get lumpy later.). Fold the unbuttered 1/3 over the center, and the remaining 1/3 over that.  Place on plastic and flour lined cookie sheet.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.  After 1/2 hour, take out the dough and place on floured counter again.  Re-roll to 16x20 inches and fold in thirds again.  Place on cookie sheet and back into fridge.  1/2 hour later, do this one more time. Then leave in fridge overnight.

The next day:

Almond Filling:
          1 c. (8oz) almond paste (not almond filling)
          1 c. Sugar
          2 cubes butter
          1/3 c. Flour
          1/4 c. Water
Mix the almond paste, butter, and sugar in a food processor until smooth.  Make sure there are no lumps of almond paste, then add flour and water and mix.

Streusel:
          1 c. Powdered sugar
          1 c. Flour
          1 cube butter, melted
Mix flour and sugar, then pour melted butter over and mix with a fork.  Add more flour until mixture forms little balls.

Glaze:
          Powdered sugar
          Vanilla
          Water
Mix 2 c. Powdered sugar with 1/2 t. Vanilla and a tiny bit of water until it makes a glaze.  Add more sugar or water to get a runny consistency.

Now:
Get the dough out of the fridge.  Re-roll and fold again.  Then cut in half.  Roll out 1/2 of the dough to 12x24 inches.  Put the other half of the dough back in the fridge for later.
Spread the rolled dough with half of the almond filling and roll it up, starting with the long edge.  Cut 1/2 in rounds, brush with water, flatten against your palm, and dip in streusel mixture.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper with streusel side up and flatten again slightly.  They spread and rise, so you should only put about 6 on a cookie sheet.  Let them “proof“ for about 15 minutes.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  (You don't want them to get browned too much or they will get crunchy.).
When they come out of the oven, place on cooling rack with foil underneath and pour a little glaze on top of each one.  You can also add a few sliced almonds on top if you like.  After baking your first batch, take the other 1/2 of your dough out of the fridge and repeat the process.  This should make about 48-60 butterhorns.  We usually wrap them individually in plastic wrap, then pack them in gallon size zip lock bags. They will keep in the freezer for several months, if you haven't eaten them all by then.