Best Bohemian Nut Roll Filling Recipes

VICTORIA SKONIECZKI'S (GRANDMOM'S) NUT ROLL (MAKOWIEC)

Steps:

• Place walnuts in a food processor. Process until roughly ground.
• Melt 3/4 cup butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar until dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add ground walnuts and maple flavoring; stir to combine.
• Mix 2 cups flour, yeast, 3 tablespoons sugar, and salt together in a bowl.
• Combine sour cream, 1 cup butter, and water in a saucepan over low heat. Warm until melted, about 2 minutes; do not boil. Remove from heat; let stand until cool enough to dip a finger in, about 3 minutes.
• Add sour cream mixture to the flour mixture slowly. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as you go. Add eggs and 1 additional cup flour; stir briefly to combine. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes more. Stir in remaining flour 1 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead several times and roll into a ball. Let rise for 10 minutes. Grease 2 jelly roll pans.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces; roll each out to a 14x12-inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 of the filling over each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch space around all edges. Roll each up lengthwise, jelly-roll fashion; pinch seams closed. Place, seams down, on the prepared pans. Cover with a damp cloth; let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 35 minutes. Place rolls on a rack to cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.

HOLIDAY NUT ROLL (AMERICANIZED CROATIAN NUT ROLL)

Steps:

• Scald milk in small pan, set off burner and cool to warm. In large mixing bowl combine warm milk and yeast with wire whisk. Beat eggs in separate bowl, then add to milk. Beat milk-egg mixture by hand for 2 minutes. Mix in sugar and margarine. Add flour slowly, mixing as you go (my grandmother insists this should be done with a wood spoon). Do not rise, do not chill. Set aside.
• Chop walnuts (food processor or very finely by hand). In large mixing bowl, combine walnuts, white sugar, and milk. Mix thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients (butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, whiskey), mixing thoroughly. Filling should be thick and moist, but not stiff.
• Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Separate large dough ball completely into 10-12 equal balls (simple method is to cut dough to equal portions on a cutting board with a lightly floured butcher knife then reform portions to balls).
• On a rolling board or clean counter, roll each dough ball to about 1/4 inch thickness in an oblong-oval shape. Spread nut mixture over rolled dough, covering the entirety with a thin layer, and keeping the mixture about 1/2 inch to 1 inch away from the edges of the dough.
• Form the roll first by folding the horizontal edges of the dough inwards on both the left and right sides. Then fold up the bottom of the dough about 1 1/2 inches. Each side and the bottom of the dough should now be folded in towards the middle of the rolled dough so that the nut covering is enclosed by the folded sides. Begin rolling from the bottom of the dough (where you just made the fold) towards the top. When you reach the top, fold the edges into a wide triangular flap (so that the roll will end with an overlapping wide "V"). Place the roll "V" down on a greased cookie sheet. This sounds complicated, but the basic idea is simply to close off the edges to prevent leaking--if you simply roll it like a jelly roll, the filling would ooze out and burn on the pan.
• Brush top with beaten egg (makes the roll pale gold-brown when baked).
• Repeat process to form other rolls. If nut mixture becomes thick and difficult to spread add more evaporated milk.
• Keep rolls at least 2 inches apart on baking sheets, and bake each for 20-25 minutes or until tops appear golden-brown. Cool at least 20 minutes before moving.