Do you have any traditional treats you make for Christmas morning? I don’t, as of yet, but these Christmas star pastries might fit the bill. They are simple enough to make and look really special too. I found them in The Nordic Bakery Cookbook by Miisa Mink. It’s filled with recipes for sweet buns, breads, simple cakes and savory pastries. If lots of rye, cardamom and gravad lox are your thing, this book is for you!
What I changed in this recipe for star pastries.
The first thing I altered when reading this recipe was its’ use of quark. I’m very familiar with the ingredient. I ate it all the time in Germany when I used to visit often (back story later). I’ve seen it here too but I know it is not readily available everywhere so I worked on finding a substitute. What seemed to work best was a combination of ricotta and sour cream. This yields a very light dough. If you can find quark, please use it but otherwise, this combo makes a great substitute.
Another thing I noticed was the lack of sugar in the dough. I guess we, as Americans, probably have a bigger sweet tooth than the Nords and I tried it as originally written. The pastries were nice but one just expected a little sweetness to them. So I added a tiny bit of sugar to the dough. To make it look even more festive, I also sprinkled a bit of decorative sugar on top. It is Christmas, after all!
Tips for making these star pastries for Christmas morning!
The dough cannot be made in advance. Because it uses baking powder as the leavener, you can’t make it the day before. After mixing, the dough needs to be chilled for 30 minutes (minimum). Two hours at the max. But once the dough is ready to be rolled, it doesn’t take much to assemble afterwards. It is a very soft, moist dough so be liberal with flouring your surface and rolling pin. If needed, the pastries may be made the day before and re-warmed in the oven briefly before eating.
To make the 4″ x 4″ dough squares, I just used a ruler and a knife. To make things go faster, cut one out of stiff paper or cardboard to make a template. Then use it to cut the squares out quickly. To make the corner slits, I liked using kitchen shears. A small paring knife will work too. Afterwards, a quick egg wash and a sprinkle of decorative sugar finishes them off. Kids may like using sprinkles. These are also nice dusted with powdered sugar after they have cooled.
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Christmas Star Pastries
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (250 g) butter, softened
- ⅔ cup (160 g) riccota, part-skim (see note)
- ⅓ cup (80 g) sour cream (see note)
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) bread flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup jam or fruit preserves (any flavor) (such as raspberry, apricot or plum)
- 1 egg, beaten
- decorative sugars, sprinkles or powdered sugar to decorate (optional) (such as pearl sugar, sanding sugar or raw sugar)
Method
- In a large bowl or a stand mixer, cream together the butter, riccotta, sour cream and sugar. Beat for 1 minute. Add the vanilla and mix in. In a medium bowl, whisk together the bread flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture all at once. Mix on low until a dough forms.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir a few times to form a ball. Divide the dough in two halves. Place each on a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Press into a disk, wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 425° F (220°C). Liberally flour your work surface and a rolling pin. Unwrap one disk of dough. Roll dough out to about ¼" (5mm) thickness. Cut out 4 inch (10 cm) squares with a sharp knife. Place on a parchment lined sheet pan. Re-roll any scraps and cut out more squares. Repeat with the second dough disk.
- For each square, cut a 1 inch (2½ cm) line from each corner towards the center. Drop a teaspoon of jam into the center of each square. Pull a corner into the center and press down gently. Dab the tip with a wet fingertip. Pull another corner down and stick the previous tip. Repeat, alternating, until you have a star shape.
- Brush each star with the beaten egg. Sprinkle each one with some sugar or sprinkles (if using). Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet pan, then transfer to a wire rack. May be eaten when slightly warm but not piping hot (preserves will be very hot!). Pastries will keep for 2 days but best eaten the day they are made.
Notes
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These are adorable! My kids love helping make cookies.