Hungarian Cookies

Dough

1 small cake yeast or one envelope dry yeast

8 ounces sour cream, room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

½

teaspoon baking powder

1 cup softened butter

3 egg yolks

Nut filling

3 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 pound walnuts, finely ground

Several tablespoons warm milk

Apricot filling

1½

cups (6 ounces) dried apricots

1 cup water

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

Crumble yeast into sour cream. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and butter. Add yolks and sour cream mixture and mix well. Mix dough until it falls from side of bowl. Add a small amount of flour if necessary. Refrigerate overnight.

For the nut filling: Whisk egg whites, gradually adding sugar. Mix in egg yolk. Stir in nuts and add milk, a little at a time, until it reaches spreading consistency; set aside.

For the apricot filling: Bring apricots and water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and apricots are tender, about 20 minutes. Puree in blender. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved; cool.

To bake: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.

Using a tablespoon, form balls with all dough. On a sugared surface flatten dough with hands or rolling pin into 2 1/2- to 3-inch rounds. Fill center with a heaping teaspoon of nut or apricot filling. To differentiate the fillings, fold nut-filled dough into a crescent shape and place seam-side down. For apricot, fold in two opposite corners to form a bow tie. Bake 12-15 minutes; remove from sheets immediately. Store loosely covered.

Makes several dozen.