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jewish sweet cheese bun recipe dessert Shavuot
Photo credit Talia Siegel

Bessarabian Sweet Cheese Buns

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Light and fragrant, buttery and rich, with a familiar noodle kugel-like flavor.

  • Total Time: 4 hours 45 minutes
  • Yield: 24

Ingredients

Units

For the dough:

  • ½ cup warm milk
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 packets dry yeast
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:

  • 1 lb farmers cheese
  • cup sugar
  • 2 eggs + 1 egg, for egg wash
  • pinch salt
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • ¼ lb cream cheese
  • ½ tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. To make the dough: Proof the yeast in the warm milk, with sugar and salt. While yeast is proofing, cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, and sour cream.
  2. Make a well in the flour. Add the yeast mixture and mix a bit with spatula or spoon. Then add the egg mixture. When dough starts to come together, place on floured surface and knead until smooth, 5-7 minutes.
  3. Put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
  4. Mix filling ingredients together in mixer. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  5. When dough is ready, cut off small pieces (about 2 oz) and flatten into rounds (approximately 5 inches wide). Make sure that the center of the rounds is not too thin, or the filling will burst through the top. Put 1 heaping Tbsp of filling in the center and gather the ends together, crimping shut so the filling doesn’t come out. Place upside down (with crimped end facing down) in greased muffin tin. Let buns rise at room temperature in a warm spot for 4 hours.
  6. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  7. Bake buns for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on them after 15 minutes to make sure they don’t get too brown, too quickly. Depending on your oven, you may need to turn down the temperature. Brush with a beaten egg mixed with a little water 10 minutes before the end.
  • Author: Alisa Doctoroff
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes + 4 hours rise time
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Ashkenazi