This is an adaptation of a cookie recipe brought from Ukraine to the US in 1910, passed down to a granddaughter, and printed in Good Housekeeping Favorite Recipes: Cookies.  It makes 48 cookies and takes about 4 hours including chilling time.

The recipe calls for Prune Butter as a filling and suggests fruit preserves as an alternative.  When I made this the first time, I did not have any Prune Butter, and I made it with apricot preserves.  For a second batch I made Prune Butter.  The Prune Butter worked better as a filling because it did not leak out at all, unlike the apricot preserves which partially melted out in the oven.

1 cup walnuts, toasted (I used pecans)

½ cup granulated sugar

14.1 oz. (3-1/4 cups) all-purpose flour

2-1/2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold salted butter

2 large eggs

1 tsp. almond extract

1/3 cup milk

1-1/2 cups Prune Butter (or fruit preserves

Sparkling sugar to sprinkle

Confectioner’s sugar (to powder before serving, optional)

Toast the walnuts at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.  Allow to cool.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cooled nuts with the sugar and grind into a fine powder.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and pulse to blend.  Cut the butter into little pieces and add to the food processor.  Pulse until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.  Add the eggs, almond extract and milk.  Pulse until a dough begins to form.  Gather the dough and form into a log.  Divide into 6 equal pieces.  Form each piece into a disk, wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Line cookie sheets with a silicon mat or baking parchment.

On a floured surface, roll each disk of dough into a circle about 9 inches in diameter.  Spread ¼ cup of prune butter on each circle leaving bare an outer border.  Cut the circle with a large knife into 8 wedges.  Roll each wedge starting from the outer edge and put each roll point side down on the prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle each roll with sparkling sugar.

Bake each sheet for about 25 minutes, rotating the sheet about halfway.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.  Optionally sprinkle the cooled cookies with powdered sugar before serving.  (I did not do this.)

Note – The individual disks do not need to be baked at the same time. Wrapped up in the refrigerator, they will last for at least several days.