Pasta Flora Recipe

Text Box: UHoly Trinity Greek Orthodox ChurchU Orthros– 9:00 am 155 Hogan Road/ PO Box 1344 (207) 783– 6795 Divine Liturgy– 10:00 am Lewiston, ME 04240 frtedt@hotmail.com

Apricot Pita / Pasta Flora Recipe

By Lillian Patellis

Text Box: Shopping List: Unsalted sweet butter Crisco Sugar Eggs (Extra Large) Vanilla Extract Sour Cream Gold Medal Flour Salt Baking Powder Baking Soda Apricot Preserves Walnuts or Pecans Keebler Pecan Sandies Shortbread Cookies

Text Box: List of Items to have on Hand: Large baking sheet pans 12” x 17” or a half a sheet cake pan

Text Box: Waxed Paper Plastic Wrap Scale (for weighing dough) Stand Mixer Pizza Cutter or Krinkle Cutter Spatulas for spreading Small paintbrush for egg wash

To Make Dough:

Using a stand mixer, slowly mix the following:

½ lb Unsalted sweet butter (softened)

2 T Crisco (heaping)

1 Cup Sugar (heaping)

Slowly add the following into the above ingredients (Do NOT OVERMIX because sour cream will separate)

4 Egg yolks, extra large (room temperature) Add yolks one at a time

1 T Vanilla Extract

1-Cup Sour Cream

Sift together the following ingredients:

5 Cups Gold Medal All Purpose Flour

½ tsp Salt

4 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Baking Soda

(Note: If flour mixture has set out for a few hours then fluff with a fork)

· Slowly add the Flour Mixture to the Creamed Mixture to form loose dough. Dough resembles sugar cookie dough. Do NOT over mix.

· Once all ingredients are combined divide into 3 parts, the first one is the bottom of the pasta flora and should equal 1 ¼ lbs, the next part is the middle of the pasta flora and should be equal to 1 ¼ lbs, the third part is the top lattice and should weigh 1 lb.

· Wrap each division of dough into separate pieces of plastic wrap and chill 4 hours or overnight.

· When ready to work with dough take out of refrigerator and let warm for half an hour. Measure and cut six sheets of waxed paper to fit 1” longer on each end of pan. Mark pan size with marker so you know how long to roll dough out.

· Roll dough between two pieces of waxed paper to marks on waxed paper with a little extra ¼” on each side.

· When rolling dough roll from middle out to sides and ends dough should be ¼” thick.

· Leave dough on waxed paper and place in pan and put in freezer for 15 minutes while you roll out the next ball of dough. Repeat for second and third ball of dough.

· Remove waxed paper and place first dough sheet into pan and push up side of pan about ¼”

Add Middle ingredients below

Middle Layer:

3 Cups Pecans or Walnuts finely chopped (make sure it is not chopped so fine that it starts to stick together and make a paste)

½ Cup Sugar

1 Cup Keebler Pecan Sandies Shortbread Cookies (Finely crushed)

· Combine nuts, sugar and cookies, then sprinkle over base layer.

Place second sheet of dough on top of nut mixture and press sides together and up side of pan ¼”

Top Layer:

3 Cups (32 oz.) Apricot Preserves (ONLY USE PRESERVES)

· Spread preserves on top of middle dough sheet to within ¼” of edge. (Do not let preserves touch edge of pan, it will burn and stick)

· Last dough sheet from freezer and cut into ½” wide stripes for lattice top.

· Place back in freezer for another 15 minutes (while working with lattice it becomes soft refreeze for another 15 minutes

· Place at a diagonal across pan with same distance between strips repeat in opposite direction to form an X pattern

· Place stripes of dough around outside edge of pan to seal the strips, press down gently.

· Beat 1 Egg

· Use brush to put egg wash carefully on top of the latticework. Do not get on preserves.

· Bake 350º for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

· Allow to cool completely

· Use cutting template to cut pasta flora into 48 same size pieces. Leave them in pan and store pasta flora.

· Wrap in layers of plastic wrap and get as much air out as possible. Then wrap in Freezer paper (Reynolds) and tape closed tightly.

Refrigerate for 1 week before serving