Sweet Cheese and Raisin Pastries
 
 
Author:
Serves: 25
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Ricotta Cheese
  • 6 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 cup Water, warm
  • 1 Lemon, zest
  • 1 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 2 oz (60g) Fresh Yeast or 1½ package of Active Dry Yeast
  • 3.5 oz (100g) Golden Raisins
Instructions
  1. In a big bowl, add the flour and form a well in the middle. Crumble up the fresh yeast and add it in the well. Pour the water over the yeast and stir it up until the yeast dissolves.
  2. Add the oil, ½ cup sugar, 2 eggs and half the lemon zest to the well. Using your hands mix everything together and continue kneading the dough for about 10 minutes.
  3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it up with a clean towel, or plastic wrap and let it double in size, in a warm place.
  4. While the dough is rising, we can make the cheese mixture. In a medium bowl, add the ricotta cheese, raisins, remaining sugar, 1 egg, remaining lemon zest and mix it all together. Place the cheese mixture in the fridge while the dough is rising.
  5. Preheat oven to 350° F / 177° C.
  6. After the dough has doubled in size, roll it out in a long rectangular so that it’s about ¼ inch in thickness. Using a pastry cutter cut it into squares that are 3" x 3" (7.5cm x 7.5cm).
  7. Take each square and roll it up until it’s 6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm), it will be quite thin, but don’t worry as it will rise quite a bit more.
  8. Place 2 tsp of the cheese mixture in the center of each square. Fold over each corner of the square over to the middle and pinch to make the dough stick. Now fold each newly formed corner over to the middle again and pinch it in the middle. Make sure you pinch it well, otherwise the dough will open up.
  9. Repeat with remaining dough and cheese mixture.
  10. Brush the pastries with egg wash and let the pastries sit out for another 10 minutes so they rise a bit more.
  11. Bake in the oven for about 30 or 35 minutes, or until golden brown.
  12. Cool on wire racks and sprinkle with powder sugar if preferred.
Recipe by Baking Glory at http://www.bakingglory.com/recipes/pastries/sweet-cheese-and-raisin-pastries/