Merry and Bright

In keeping with annual tradition, despite having just survived a 15 hour flight home from Thailand, friends and family gathered today at my house for cookie decorating.  There was eating, drinking, and merriment making.  I love catching up with friends from far away and having a house full of my favorite people spending a relaxing afternoon together.  

Mom is all smiles:

Leslie learns to make burekas:

Overcome with the Christmas spirit of giving, I'm sharing the recipe below:

Burekas

1 package of puff pastry sheets

8 oz farmers cheese

3 Tbs crumbled feta cheese

4 Tbs grated mozzarella

2 eggs (one for the filling mixture, one for "gluing" the pockets and to brush on top)

2-3 Tbs sesame seeds

Thaw the pastry sheets as directed on the package.  Prepare the filling by combining all 3 cheeses and 1 egg.  Unfold each pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about half the original thickness. Cut each sheet into 12 squares of equal size.  Fill each square with about 1 tsp of the cheese mixture.  Brush the edges of each square with egg and fold over dough to form a triangle, pinch closed with your fingers. Arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Brush the top of each pocket with egg and sprinkle with a pinch of sesame seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes in an oven that's been preheated to 400 degrees.  Best hot out of the oven, enjoy!

It was a serious productions of rolling, cutting, baking and decorating. Don't worry we saved some cookies for you: