These pastries are best when freshly baked, so if you plan on giving them to someone who may not be able to serve them within a day or two, you should deliver them frozen, along with the baking instructions.
Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr
Makes about 5 dozen small pastries.
INGREDIENTS
- for pastry dough
- 2sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
- 1(8-oz) package cold cream cheese, quartered
- 1/4cup sugar
- 3/4teaspoon salt
- 2cups all-purpose flourfor filling
- 3/4cup walnuts (3 oz), toasted
- 1cup pitted prunes (6 oz)
- 1/4cup sugar
- 1/8teaspoon cinnamon
- 1tablespoon cream sherry or water for egg wash
- 1large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon waterspecial equipment:a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter
DIRECTIONS Make pastry dough:
Pulse butter, cream cheese, sugar, salt, and flour in a food processor just until a dough forms. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.)
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough and form into 2 balls, then flatten each ball into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, each wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Make filling:
Pulse walnuts, prunes, sugar, cinnamon, and Sherry in food processor until nuts are finely chopped and filling forms a thick paste.
Form and bake crescents:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Roll out 1 disk of dough (keep the other chilled) into a roughly 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut out rounds with floured cookie cutter. Chill scraps.
Put 1/2 teaspoon of filling in center of 1 dough round. Brush some of egg wash halfway around pastry, near edge, then fold dough over filling, forming a half-moon shape. Pinch edges to seal. Make more crescents in same manner, rerolling scraps (but only once).
Arrange crescents 1/2 inch apart on 2 buttered large baking sheets and lightly brush tops with egg wash. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven until tops are pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.
Cooks’ notes:
• Dough can be chilled, wrapped well, up to 1 day.
• Filling can be made 4 days ahead and chilled, covered.
• Unbaked filled crescents (without egg wash brushed on top) can be frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap, 2 weeks. Thaw, then brush with egg wash before baking.

