Nazook Armenian Pastry Recipes

NAZOOK (SWEET PERSIAN PASTRY)

Steps:

• Mix 1 cup sour cream, 2 teaspoons sugar, and yeast together in a bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Mix in egg, vinegar, and oil.
• Pour 3 cups flour into a large bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup butter, working it into the flour until mixture is the consistency of meal. Stir in sour cream mixture until dough comes together.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 10 minutes. Cut dough into 4 pieces and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix melted butter, 2 1/2 cups sugar, and vanilla extract together in a very large bowl to make filling. Stir in 4 cups flour. Beat in egg whites.
• Roll a piece of dough into an 8x12-inch rectangle on a lightly floured work surface. Crumble 1/4 of the filling mixture on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the long sides. Cover filling with plastic wrap; flatten out with a rolling pin. Roll dough into a tight roll, starting with one of the long sides.
• Cut roll into 2-inch pieces at a slight angle. Arrange pieces on a rimmed baking sheet. Push tops down gently to flatten slightly. Repeat with remaining 3 pieces of dough and filling.
• Whisk egg yolks and yogurt together to make glaze. Brush glaze over pieces of dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool before serving, about 15 minutes.

NAZOOK (ARMENIAN PASTRY)

Steps:

• Dough: Add yeast to the sour cream and mix inches Set aside for 10 minutes. Combine flour, salt and butter and mix with your hands until crumbly. Add egg, vegetable oil, lemon juice and sour cream and mix well. Knead the dough, over a floured surface, for 5 minutes, or until no longer sticky. Add more flour if necessary. Form into a ball, mark with an "+", symbolizing a cross. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 5 hours, or overnight.
• Filling: Mix melted butter and flour until combined. Add sugar, walnuts, vanilla and cardamom. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Assembly: Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and set aside. Remove dough from refrigerator; divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each dough ball into a 10 x 6" rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Spread 1/8th of the filling over each rectangle, leaving 1/2" border. Cover with a piece of parchment paper. Roll over it lightly with a rolling pin, so that the filling adheres to the dough. Fold the edges in 1/2" over the filling. Roll into a cylinder. Gently flatten with the palms of your hands.
• Cut each roll into 6 pieces and arrange on 2 greased cookie sheets. Brush liberally with the egg glaze. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea!

NAZOOK OR CHOREG (ARMENIAN SWEET PASTRY)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and mahleb.
• In a medium saucepan, heat milk until hot. Add butter,
• shortening and sugar, and stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Remove from heat and set aside.
• Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add a bit of
• sugar to activate the yeast. The mixture should become foamy.
• Make a well in the center of the flour. Add the eggs and the
• milk mixture to the flour.
• Pour in the activated yeast. Stir to blend well.
• Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until
• the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should be slightly
• sticky, not dry.
• Place the dough in a large greased bowl. Pat top of dough with
• a bit of oil to prevent sticking to aluminum foil. Cover the
• bowl with foil and then a dish towel. Let rise in a warm place
• for 2 hours.
• Break off a small amount of dough and shape into pretzels or braids.
• Put rolls on a baking sheet and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Brush
• with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or nigella (black
• seeds, see note).
• Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

NAZOOK, BUTTERY ARMENIAN STREUSEL-STUFFED PASTRIES

Steps:

• Make the dough:.
• Mix sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Add lukewarm water and mix. Set aside until frothy, ~2-3 minutes.
• In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and sugar.
• Measure the rest of the dough ingredients into a bowl and add the butter mixture.
• Stir and knead for 5-10 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, shape each into a ball, wrap each in plastic.
• Chill in the fridge for 6 hours.
• Make the filling:.
• Add a teaspoon of sugar to a small mortar and pestle, add the saffron threads and crush them to a powder.
• Then steep in hot water, maybe 5 minutes.
• In a clean bowl, measure the dry ingredients for the filling.
• Cut butter into the dry ingredients using a fork or your clean hands to a sandy consistency.
• Add the vanilla, then steeped saffron.
• Put it all together:.
• Remove dough from fridge and set aside to warm to room temp, 15-20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 F, then immediately reduce temperature to 300°F.
• Make the glaze by beating together one egg and a splash milk in a small bowl.
• Lightly dust a rolling pin and clean surface with flour.
• Unwrap one of the dough balls and roll it out to about 1/8th inch thickness.
• Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the filling over the dough and gently press filling into the dough with the rolling pin.
• Roll the dough over from one end to the other end, carefully tucking it the filling in to form a log.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Transfer the stuffed dough log to the baking sheet.
• Using a sharp knife, cut log into about 6 pieces.
• Repeat the process with another dough ball, leaving about 1/2-inch of space between the cookies as they will plump up in the oven.
• About 3 dough balls/logs will fit onto a standard cookie sheet.
• Brush the tops of the nazook with egg + milk glaze and bake for roughly 20 minutes, until golden brown.
• These pastries are best when eaten fresh from the oven. Store them in a metal cookie tin for a couple of weeks. Nazook also freezes well. Anoush!