Butterhorns Revisited

When I want to be very popular at the annual Reinert family reunion, all I have to do is bake up a batch of these. These are a very traditional treat in our childhood communities/families. It had been three years since I'd made them, and lacking any other ideas of what to bring, I decided to pull out this recipe. Sadly the generation who regularly made these is passing away, or simply unable to go to the trouble any more.

Here's the recipe, as roughly copied from the June 10th 1987 newspaper clipping entitled 'Fran Rupprecht's Traditional German Recipes':

4 C all-purpose flour
4 Tb sugar
2 sticks (1 C)butter (do not substitute margarine [well, duhhh])
1 1/4 C lukewarm milk
1 cake yeast (this translates nowadays to 3 envelopes dry yeast. Each envelope is 2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 eggs, beaten

Filling:

2 C brown sugar
3 Tb flour
3 Tb evaporated milk

Frosting and 1 C walnuts, chopped

Mix the filling ingredients together. The mixture should not be runny (it should be like damp sand).

Measure the flour, sugar and butter into a 2 qt. mixing bowl. The butter should be at room temperature. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk, add to the flour and butter mixture and mix well. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Cover the bowl with waxed paper and refrigerate overnight.

Next day: Divide the dough into 6 equal parts, shaping each part into a ball, well floured. Roll the ball out on a floured board until it is 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Use a pastry cutter to cut the rolled dough into 8 wedges. Place 1/2 tsp of the filling at the side end of the wedge and roll up. Place rolls on an ungreased baking pan, cover, and let rise 1 hour. Bake in a 375 F oven 12-14 minutes. Do not overbake or let them get too brown.

Here the recipe says to frost the butterhorns with purchased Betty Crocker Sour Cream white frosting and sprinkle with chopped nuts. I chose to stir up a basic frosting of confectioners' sugar, evaporated milk and a couple tablespoons of butter. I also toasted the nuts before chopping them.

Another trick: I brushed a few drops of evaporated milk on the dough circle before placing the filling on and rolling. This helped seal everything a little better. And I don't know if this is an 'approved' method, but I carefully grasped the pointed end and gently stretched it as I rolled up the triangle. I just think the more windings, the prettier they are.



You'll want to press the filling together more tightly than I've shown (that's an old pic). Some leakage will occur, but the more neat and tight you can make these, the better they will be.


























I got thanked so many times for bringing these. The ultimate compliment: they're just as good as Aunt Selma's. Her advice three years ago was to not let them rise too much (they should be small and dainty, according to Tim), and to really make them 'authentic', use hickory nuts. Those aren't all that easy to find, so I've always used walnuts.

Get some coffee or tea brewed, or have milk ready. These are really sweet.

I've been told Tim's brother Tom loves these, and he and Josie are flying out from Tucson this weekend. I think I'll be making up another batch for Saturday and Sunday breakfasts...