Honey Walnut Cookie Sticks (Sfratti)
Traditional Italian cookies made from a spiced honey walnut filling and wrapped in homemade pie crust.
Servings: 48 cookie slices
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ recipes homemade pie crust1
- 12 ounces (340g) finely chopped walnuts2
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 12 ounces (340g) honey
- ¾ to 1 cup (90-120g) all-purpose flour
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Instructions
- Make the pie crust (or be sure your frozen store bought is completely thawed). On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of the dough at a time into a 12" circles. Transfer to large baking sheets or large platters/plates and chill in refrigerator until ready to use. You will need 3 large 12" circles.1 and ½ recipes homemade pie crust1
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, toss together the nuts, orange zest, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.12 ounces (340g) finely chopped walnuts2, 2 teaspoons orange zest, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the honey to a boil. Be careful as it will foam up. When the honey starts foaming, reduce the burner to medium heat and set a timer for 5 minutes. Allow honey to cook while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.12 ounces (340g) honey
- When the 5 minutes are up, add the nut and spice mixture, set the timer for another 5 minutes, and stir constantly. It probably won't take 5 minutes to cook, but you will know the honey/nut mixture is done when the honey no longer liquefies onto the bottom of the saucepan when you make a line through the mixture with your wooden spoon.
- Remove from the heat and let mixture stand, stirring occasionally until the mixture is cool enough to handle, but not set. While mixture is cooling, spread flour into a large rectangle on a large piece of parchment or wax paper. My rectangle is typically 12 inches by 10 inches.¾ to 1 cup (90-120g) all-purpose flour
- Using two spoons, divide mixture into six roughly shaped sticks on the flour approximately 6" long. Allow logs to cool a bit so you are able to touch them with your fingers. Smooth out the edges so the logs aren't jagged or uneven.
- Remove the prepared crust from the refrigerator. Working with one pie crust at a time, cut the dough circle in half with a knife. Working with one stick and one half of each crust at a time, place the formed nut stick on the short/curved edge of the crust. Roll the nut stick up in the crust until you reach the long/straight edge of the crust. Cut off the excess crust on the edges of the roll, leaving about ½" to ¾" to seal the roll. Fold the trimmed edge over each side of the log and press the bottoms and sides closed firmly with your fingers. Repeat with rest of the filling logs and crust.
- Place each finished stick on the baking sheet. If you would like to, brush an egg wash over the top of each stick. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into slices before serving. Unsliced sticks will stay fresh wrapped in foil or plastic wrap at room temperature up to one week. Sliced cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to one week. Unsliced sticks freeze well, up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Sliced cookies freeze well, up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
Notes
- Pie crust: frozen store bought pie crust is also fine-- thaw overnight in refrigerator before use.
- Finely chopped nuts: I buy the nuts labeled "finely chopped" because I find I can't get the nuts small enough chopping them by hand, but they are too fine if I chop them with my nut chopper.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
