Crescent Cookies With Ricotta Cheese and Fruit Jam

I love making Christmas cookies and these are among my family favorites.

Crescent Cookies

There are several different types of crescent cookies. Some are rolled in powdered sugar and filled with a luscious chopped nut filling (my sister, Joyce, makes these). Some are rolled in jam and cinnamon sugar, like the ones in this recipe.

But all crescent cookies have one thing in common—they are a rolled cookie with some sort of filling. I used a strawberry jam but you can use any fruit jam you like. Raspberry or apricot is equally good.

It's better to use jam than either jelly or preserves. Jelly liquefies too much when baked, and the chunks of fruit in preserves (although delicious) make it harder to roll up the dough to make the crescent shapes.

There are also different recipes for dough. The dough in this recipe has ricotta cheese in it, which makes it easier to roll out and roll up with the filling. It is also rolled in cinnamon sugar. Try the different types, and see which ones you like best. I like them all.

Note: The prep time below includes 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup raspberry or apricot jam
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange peel

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, sift the flour and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and ricotta cheese with an electric mixer until blended. Beat in 1/2 cup of sugar and orange peel, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
2. With the mixer at low speed, beat in the flour mixture until a dough forms. This takes several minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap; chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours (or overnight).
3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the sugar and cinnamon. On a board or countertop, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar.
4. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Roll out each ball into an 8-inch round circle. Cut the circle into 8 wedges.
5. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of the jam on the wide end of the wedge and roll tight, starting at the wide end. After all the dough is made into crescents. bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool before storing. Enjoy!

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