Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy’s Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
Kabocha Crescents
I had some nice dense puréed kabocha squash left over from another dish, so I fashioned these simple little tidbits. If you have cooked squash – or even sweet potatoes – on hand, these little sweet morsels whip up in no time at all. As my Dad always said, “So it shouldn’t go to waste!” Enjoy lightly sweet and nutritious kabocha crescents as a snack or dessert. Serve with your favorite hot drink.
Prep time 15 minutes (plus 1 hour if you need to bake the squash)
Bake time 15 minutes
Makes 16
1 cup date paste from 1½ cups pitted dates, dried apricots, or figs
½ cup dense pulp of kabocha, or other sweet winter squash or sweet potato, baked, peeled and purée
½ cup white whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon sodium-free baking powder
¼ teaspoon vanilla bean seeds
Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/8 teaspoon
- To make the fruit paste filling, place the pitted, destemmed dried fruit in a glass bowl, cover with water, and microwave for 2 minutes. Allow it to cool. Using a high-speed blender, purée the softened fruit with only as much soaking water as needed to create a dense paste. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until use. The paste will thicken slightly as it cools.
- If you don’t have cooked kabocha on hand, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Bake the kabocha whole for about an hour but check after 50 minutes. When a knife penetrates easily and the squash begins to darken and collapse, it is ready. When it is cool enough to be handled, use a peeler to remove the skin. Remove the seeds. Transfer the pulp to a food processor and run about 30 seconds to purée.
- In a medium bowl, mix the white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and vanilla bean seeds.
- Using a nutmeg rasp or grater, grate nutmeg into the bowl.
- Add ½ cup of the puréed squash, and mix. Use your hand to knead the dough lightly for a minute.
- Form the dough into a ball. It will be about the size of a tennis ball. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a ball.
- Line a cutting board with wax paper. Use a rolling pin to flatten the first dough ball into 1/8-inch-thick circle, between 5 or 6 inches in diameter.
- Use a pizza wheel or a blunt knife to cut the circle, pizza-style, into 8 equal triangles.
- Use a dough scraper or icing spatula to move a triangle to another part of the cutting board. Smear a thick layer of fruit paste over its surface.
- Starting at the wide end, roll up the pastry and lightly press the point of the dough triangle down to seal it. Transfer the crescent to the parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced at least one inch apart.
- Repeat steps 12 and 13 until all 8 roll ups are made. Repeat steps 10 through 14 to make the remaining 8 crescents with the second ball of dough.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the pastries have puffed slightly and lightly browned on their edges and are fragrant.
- Cool slightly on a rack.
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