Walnut-Filled Pillows

Name: Walnut-Filled Pillows
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 28 cookies.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed; 3 ounces cold cream cheese; 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup ground walnuts; 1/4 cup sugar; 2 tablespoons whole milk; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract; 1 large egg, lightly beaten; Confectioners' sugar

These tender cookie pillows, filled with a delicious walnut mixture, are my husband's favorite. He says it wouldn't be Christmas without them. —Nancy Kostrej, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Ingredients

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
3 ounces cold cream cheese
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup ground walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Confectioners' sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, cut butter and cream cheese into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Blend mixture together until smooth dough forms, about 3 minutes. Pat into a rectangle; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. For filling, combine the walnuts, sugar, milk and vanilla.
Unwrap dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 17-1/2x10-in. rectangle; cut into 2-1/2-in. squares. Place a level teaspoonful of filling in the center of each square. Moisten edges with water; fold in half and seal with a fork. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with egg.
Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Nutrition Facts

1 each: 84 calories, 6g fat (3g saturated fat), 20mg cholesterol, 45mg sodium, 6g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.

Originally published as Walnut-Filled Pillows in Country Woman Christmas 2002

Reviews

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lada2

Dec 19, 2017

Love this recipe - definitely adding this to my holiday rotation! Both the dough and the filling are very tasty, very Eastern European. I made these for our Ukrainian school's St. Nicholas celebration (because our St. Nicholas traditionally leaves gifts under the pillow).I do find it tricky to get the filling not to leak, even though I did moisten the edges with water, sealed really well by hand, and pressed with a fork, even reduced the amount of filling to 3/4 tsp- maybe these need little slits on top? Anyway, the leaked filling can be cut away and there's still plenty inside.The egg wash needs to be heavy because the dough doesn't brown on its own.I made the dough in the food processor, after grinding the walnuts.
nightskystar

Dec 8, 2015

oh my gosh...these are now added to both my bakery menu and my Christmas cookie regulars. Easy to make and SO delicious!!!
nessienessa

Nov 22, 2011

I enjoyed making these beautiful things and enjoyed it even more when I saw the look on people's faces once they took a bite. Very unique kind of cookie ;)
glenswife

Apr 14, 2009

like moms' croation horns