Apricot Crescent Cookies

15 years ago

As I was flipping through the pages of an old Kalajian-family cookbook, a yellowed, slightly tattered piece of paper dropped to the floor.

When I picked it up, I realized it was a newspaper clipping – obviously from an Armenian-American newspaper. Don’t know which one, or when it was printed.

Apparently my mother-in-law saved this for a long time. She might have made the recipe, but I don’t know for sure. It certainly sounded good!

The recipe, which was submitted to the paper by Ms. Irene Guregian, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, is called “Apricot Crescent Cookies” (Dziranamahig).

Doug discovered that Ms. Guregian still resides in Chelmsford, and with the click of his mouse was able to find her phone number. I called, and had a nice conversation with her daughter Karen. Unfortunately Ms. Guregian isn’t well, and did not recall which paper printed her recipe, but did remember that she created the recipe herself, and Karen confirmed that they are, indeed, delicious.

With Christmas just a few weeks away, I figured I’d better get a head-start on trying out this recipe. I altered it a bit, as noted below, and decided that these Apricot Crescent Cookies really are delicious!

Apricot Crescent Cookies

An apricot Armenian Christmas cookie recipe.

Servings dozen

Ingredients

3 cups flour sifted
½ lb butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
¾ cups sour cream
¾ cups chopped walnuts pecans work well in this, too
1 jar apricot preserves

Instructions

Cut butter into flour, using fingertips. Add yolk and sour cream. Mix well. Dough should be sticky. Shape into ball and sprinkle with flour.
Wrap in waxed paper and chill several hours. Divide dough into 3 parts.
Roll each section out to a large circle like a pie shell. Cut, as you would a pie wedge, into 12 sections or less. Mix nuts into apricot preserves.
Place heaping teaspoon into large section and start rolling toward small point to make crescent-shape (using fingers) as you place on (ungreased) cookie sheet.
Bake in 350° oven 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Notes

For the record: The procedure I used to make this varied a bit. Here are the changes I made:

1. I used a pastry blender instead of my fingers.

2. After making the dough, I separated it into 3 equal balls, wrapped them individually, then refrigerated as directed. I kept the other balls of dough in the refrigerator until I was ready to use them.

3. After rolling each ball into a 12 inch circle, I spread 1/3 of a 10-ounce jar of apricot preserves on the surface of the dough.

4. Then I sprinkled about 2 or 3 Tbsp. of chopped pecans over the apricot.

5. I used a pizza wheel to cut the dough into 12 wedges. The wheel made this so easy! After that I prepared the recipe as directed.

6. Be sure to cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store in a container with a tight fitting lid.

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View Comments

Ara says:

December 3, 2009 at 3:12 pm

I'm almost embarassed to post this.

My mom made similar cookies but with a few shortcuts. She used that frozen croissant dough that comes in a cylindrical container (Bisquick? forgot the brand). Then she made a zaatar filling by combining the zaatar (pick your favorite mix or make your own) and olive oil. She brushed the filling on the cookies, rolled them up, and stuck them in the oven following the box directions. Presto! Zaatar crescent cookies for breakfast.
Ara says:

December 3, 2009 at 3:13 pm

But Ms. Guregian's cookies definitely sound better! Don't tell my mom, though! LOL
Robyn says:

December 3, 2009 at 3:28 pm

The zaatar variety sounds really good, too, although not sweet like the apricot ones. I'll definitely give those a try. Thanks for the recipe, and don't be embarrassed, we all take culinary shortcuts! By the way, the commercially prepared dough you refer to is Pillsbury.
sosie says:

July 13, 2010 at 8:23 pm

Another really good variation is nutells spread on the dough...
sosie says:

July 13, 2010 at 8:24 pm

*NUTELLA*
Sorry...
Top rated Seattle Immigration Attorneys says:

May 10, 2017 at 2:28 pm

I don’t understand “roll the dough across”- do we roll it up like a jelly roll or fold it in half? I just want to make sure.
Robyn Kalajian says:

May 13, 2017 at 6:45 pm

If I am understanding your question, once the dough is rolled into a 12"circle, the apricot preserves are brush onto the surface, then nuts are sprinkled on top of that. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into 12 pie-shaped slices. Begin rolling at the wide end of the slice toward the pointed end. Slightly turn the ends downward to create a crescent shape as shown in the photo above. I hope this helps!
Unknown says:

August 16, 2017 at 12:38 am

My mother in law was a wonderful baker and cook. Unfortunately, I was never able to learn from her, but enjoy listening to the families stories about her cooking and how much fun it was to learn from her. My sister in law Karen was taught well. My husband John even picked up some of her talent in cooking. Sadly, my Mother in law passed May 2017, but her recipes and stories live on in our hearts and memories. She is greatly missed ♡
Jan says:

August 20, 2023 at 12:53 am

Sounds good.
What size of preserves? 13 oz ? not every brand comes in the same size jar.
Our family made the crescents with walnuts and cinnamon.
- Robyn Kalajian says:
  
  October 1, 2023 at 2:59 pm
  
  Thanks for pointing that out, Jan. I used a 10-ounce jar of apricot preserves. This was mentioned in the third statement in my 'Notes' below the recipe.
Lisa says:

December 10, 2024 at 3:39 pm

Do these freeze welll?
- Robyn Kalajian says:
  
  December 11, 2024 at 1:40 pm
  
  Good question, Lisa. To be honest, I've never had a need to freeze these cookies. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that freezing wouldn't be a problem, but I'd suggest preparing a test batch to freeze, just to make sure.