This pre-due date week is a perk that my company gives to mothers. A wonderful one, which I suppose is meant to offer you time to make all the remaining, necessary preparations for the new addition to your household. To nest per se - an instinct that I have found to be very real, particularly amongst type A people, like myself.
The problem is that my nesting began a couple weeks ago, so by Wednesday afternoon, much of my to-do list had already been accomplished. I've cooked, cleaned, organized, and shopped. I caught up on a year's worth of scrapbooking and a month or more of delinquent personal correspondence. I've continued to cram for my labor and delivery test on March 6. And I even drew up a birth plan. But by yesterday afternoon, I was tapped. So instead of playing mom-to-be, I diverted my attention toward the feathering of my own little nest in the middle of the couch in the basement, where I laughing out loud to episode after episode of Arrested Development, which let me just tell you is still funny the third time around.
This morning, feeling guilty for the R and R that I allowed myself yesterday, I renewed my commitment to nesting. I asked myself, what would my Mom have done before the arrival of her kids? The answer to that came in a text a couple minutes later: 'I worked until I went into labor.' Right. So I looked another generation back. What would Grandma Barry have done before the arrival of each of her eight kids?
Make meals to feed an army and freeze them? Yes.
Stay comfy in her 'intermediates?' Absolutely.
Screen the door for strange utility men who you don't want in your house? Certainly.
Make some nut rolls? Most definitely.
Bake dozens of cookies? Of course.
With many future dinners already occupying the freezer, and while already dedicated to stretch pants and screening, I turned to baking today. And a typical Barry baking day at that. Three nut rolls: one for the freezer, one to give away to a deserving visitor, and one for breakfast tomorrow. And three dozen maple twists, which I fondly remember lining many of Grandma's cookie trays.
Lo.
Maple Twists
Makes 3 dozen
Ingredients for Dough:
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 sticks of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1 1/2 packages of dry, active yeast
2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 egg yolks (I cut this recipe in half, thus the dividing of an egg.)
3/4 cup sour crean
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons of ice water
Nut filling:
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts
Icing:
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons milk, or just enough to make the icing a smooth, spreadable consistency.
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the yeast, water and sugar. Let the yeast dissolve for 10 minutes. It should look like brownish mush when it is ready.
Using a pastry blender, in a large bowl combine the flour and butter until the mixture resembles course meal. In another small bowl, combine egg yolks, sour cream, vanilla, salt and yeast mixture. Stir till just blended. Make a well in the middle of the flour in the large bowl, and add the wet ingredients. Blend into dough using your hands, until it comes together. You might need to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of ice water to get it to stick together. (I did.) Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
When the dough is ready, combine the ground nuts and cinnamon and set aside. Remove the dough and cut it in half. Spread about 1/4 cup of sugar on a large, lightly floured cutting board, and roll out dough over the sugar, incorporating the sugar into the dough. Roll the dough until is about 1/8 of an inch thick, and about the size of a 20x12 inch rectangle. Sprinkle the walnut mixture over the dough. Fold into third like an envelop, gently pressing the final fold to seal the dough slightly. Cut the dough into 3x1 inch strips and carefully twist each slice about three times around. Set on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until just turning golden brown. Cool completely.
Combine the icing ingredients and dip the tops of each (cooled) cookie in the icing. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or so until icing is set.
Large Nut Rolls
Makes 3 Nut Rolls
Ingredients for Dough:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 packet of yeast, dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water and 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
3/4 cup milk, divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup
1/4 teaspoon salt
Nut Filling:
3 cups finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups applesauce
Mix together the nut filling, set aside.
In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter with 1/4 cup milk, salt, and sugar. Remove from heat and reduce the temperature by whisking until its still hot, but bearable to touch by hand.
In a large bowl, combine flour with dissolved yeast, 1/2 cup milk and egg. Add the milk mixture and knead until the dough is soft and supple. Cut the dough in three parts.
Roll out the first part of the dough on a lightly floured surface. It should reach the shape of a rectangle about 18x12 inches. Spread about a third of the nut mixture all over the top of the dough, then carefully roll up the dough over the nut filling as tightly as possible. Wet your hands and gently seal the ends. Place seam side down on a cookie sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and nut mixture. If you use a big cookie sheet, you should be able to fit all the nut rolls on one of them.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.
