Clothespin Cookies III

A flaky pastry dough is baked onto greased wooden clothespins and then filled with a sweet, nutty ricotta filling.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 21 mins
• Total Time: 41 mins
• Calories: 152 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ¾ cup butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
• ¼ cup warm milk
• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 1 cup chopped red and green candied cherries

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place warm milk in a small bow and sprinkle the yeast over the top; stir and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt. Cut in the butter until lumps are no larger than peas. Stir in the yeast mixture and eggs to form a dough. Shape dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Divide dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece out into a 10 inch square. Cut into 14 strips. Wrap each strip in an overlapping spiral around the length of a greased wooden clothes pin. You can roll the pastry in sugar at this point if you like. Place covered clothes pins 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Step 3

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Carefully remove clothespins while cookies are still warm and place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 4

To make the filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese and 1/4 cup of white sugar. Fold in the beaten egg whites until evenly distributed. Gently fold in the candied cherries, walnuts and chocolate chips. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip and pipe the filling into the cookies. Serve immediately after filling..