Hungarian Cookie Bars Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sour cream, water and vanilla; gradually add to crumb mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide into thirds. Chill for 30 minutes. , Between two large sheets of waxed paper, roll out one portion of dough into a 15x10-in. rectangle. Transfer to an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with 1-1/4 cups walnuts and 2 tablespoons sugar. Roll out another portion of dough into a 15x10-in. rectangle; place over walnuts. Spread with jam; sprinkle with remaining walnuts and sugar. , Roll out remaining pastry; cut into strips. Arrange in a crisscross pattern over filling. Trim and seal edges. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease a 9" square baking pan; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, cream together 3/4 cup of the brown sugar and the margarine. Add vanilla and flour; mix well. Pat this mixture into the bottom of the baking pan.
• In a small bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the remaining 1 cup brown sugar; mix well. Pour into the pan over the first mixture. Sprinkle the nuts evenly over the top.
• Bake at 325ºF for 30 to 40 minutes, or until center is no longer jiggly. Cool completely before slicing. Slice into 2-1/2"x1-1/2" bars.

Steps:

• Beat butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until pale yellow and creamy. Gradually add 2 cups flour to butter mixture until the dough is too thick for the mixer. Stir remaining 2 cups flour into the butter mixture by hand and knead until dough falls off hands easily. Roll dough into a ball, place in bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Stir walnuts and sugar together in a bowl. Pour milk into walnut mixture and stir to form a paste.
• Turn dough onto a floured work surface and roll to desired thickness. Cut dough into 2-inch squares. Place about 1 teaspoon walnut filling in the center of each square. Roll the dough from 1 corner to the other corner around the walnut filling and transfer to a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until light brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until blended. Gradually beat flour into creamed mixture. Divide dough into 3 portions. Shape each into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. For filling, in a small bowl, beat egg whites and vanilla on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on medium after each addition until well blended. Stir in walnuts., Generously coat a work surface with confectioners' sugar. Roll 1 portion of dough into a 12-in. square about 1/8 in. thick, sprinkling with additional confectioners' sugar as necessary to coat well. Cut into sixteen 3-in. squares., Shape 2 teaspoons filling into a small log about 2 in. long. Place diagonally onto a square. Overlap opposite corners of dough over filling; pinch tightly to seal. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Bake until bottoms are golden brown, 9-11 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar., To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Wrap and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. , Freeze option: Freeze cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw before serving. If desired, dust with additional confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Use a pastry blender or fork to cut in butter until pea-sized crumbs form. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix dough well.
• Separate out 1/4 of the dough and chill in the refrigerator. Press remaining dough into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 15 1/2x10 1/2-inch jelly roll pan. Spread apricot preserves on 1/2 the mixture and raspberry preserves on the remaining 1/2.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto a lightly floured board. Cut into 1/2-inch strips and place diagonally across the preserves to form a lattice; press around edges to seal.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• Allow to cool and cut into squares. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar; this keeps cookies from sticking and looks nice, too.