JOULUTORTUT: FINNISH JAM PINWHEEL PASTRIES

Ingredients

Pastry

• 1 cup butter, cubed and at room temperature
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1½ cup pastry flour, sifted
• 10 oz prune jam (if not making homemade)

Prune Jam Filling (if making homemade)

• 1 cup dried prunes
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• ~1.5 cups water

How to Make

Stage 1: Create Dough

1. Use your hands to mix butter and flour together. Your goal here is to get a crumbly consistency
2. Add the ricotta and vinegar and mix the dough together, which will have a fairly wet and sticky consistency to it
3. Roll the dough into a ball and place uncovered in the refrigerator for an hour. The dough will firm during this time.

Stage 2: Create Prune Jam Filling (if making it homemade)

1. While the dough is in the fridge, begin heating the water and coconut sugar for the prune jam filling in a small saucepan over high heat
2. Add the dried prunes and bring to a boil before simmering for 15-20 minutes. Stir frequently during this time
3. Once the prunes are soft, either use a strainer or a fork to mash the prunes to get your desired consistency for the jam

Stage 3: Roll Out and Cut Dough

1. Take the dough from the fridge and place on a well-floured surface. The dough, while firm, is still fairly wet, so the flour will be needed to keep it from sticking
2. Use a well-floured rolling pin to flatten the dough to about ¼ inch thickness
3. Cut the dough into squares and transfer the squares onto a oiled baking sheet

Stage 4: Shape Pastries and Add Jam

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. To make the pastry, make a small incision from close to the center of the square pastry to the corner. Repeat for all four corners. Note: Do not cut from the center - Leave enough uncut space in the center of the dough to place the jam
3. Add a small dollop of prune jam into the middle
4. Start at one corner and fold one outside point into the center. Repeat for all four corners. Your pastry should have corner points that alternate one folded, one left alone.
5. Slightly pinch in the middle to bind the dough together above the jam
6. Brush either melted butter or egg wash over the pastry (optional)
7. Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown