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Thursday, September 01, 2005

Mushroom Crescents


Source: My mother-in-law

Pastry:
3 (3-ounce) packages cream cheese
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, finely chopped
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water for glaze

Pastry: Soften cream cheese and butter at room temperature. With wooden spoon or hands, stir flour, cream cheese and butter until well blended and smooth. Wrap and chill for a least 30 minutes.

Filling: In skillet, saute butter and onions until onions are lightly browned. Add mushrooms and cook over medium heat and add cream cheese a bit at a time, stirring until melted. Stir in salt, thyme and pepper. Remove from heat and cool.

Crescents: Preheat oven to 450ยบ. Remove 1/2 dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured board, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough into 2 1/2-inch circles with cookie or biscuit cutter. Put 1/2 tsp. filling on each circle. Fold in half and press edges together with tines of a fork. Make a small slit into top of each crescent to allow steam to escape. Brush crescents with egg wash. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes (longer if frozen) or until golden brown and puffed.

My notes: These can be frozen after assembling. There is no need to thaw before baking, but the egg wash does go on a little easier if they aren't straight out of the freezer. It can be a bit time-consuming to assemble these, but they are worth it!

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:03 PM

    I've been making mushrooms in phyllo cups a lot lately -- faster than preparing even a simple pastry, rolling and folding. Basic recipe is to chop assorted mushrooms, saute w/ finely chopped onion and/or garlic and/or shallots, stir in sherry or brandy and/or chopped fresh herbs and/or grated cheese, fill into phyllo cups and bake. Always a hit. I've blogged my recent holiday menus at http://culinary-colorado.blogspot.com. Please visit.

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  2. Claire - I like phyllo too, but the pastry for these cresecents is absolutely wonderful and well-worth the effort. :)

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