Dutch Letters (pastries)

[God] may direct some to leave their homeland to go to proclaim the Gospel in a foreign land. There is a great temptation in such circumstances for people to revert to the legalism of thinking that they are being heroes for God because they are leaving their homeland to endure the rigors of living in a foreign land. Those who are directed to do hard jobs for God must remind themselves that these rigors are simply for their health. As these difficulties help them become more like Christ, they will sing a song of praise unto God, and as a result 'many will see it and fear and put their trust in the Lord' (Psm. 40:3). People who regard themselves as invalids rather than heroes will make excellent missionaries.

Daniel Fuller

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Eggs	Dutch		1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	lb	Butter
4	c	Flour
1	c	Ice water
3		Whole eggs, plus 2 egg
		whites
1	lb	Almond paste, available in
		supermarkets
2	c	Sugar, plus some for
		sprinkling
1	t	Vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

This is a pastry recipe I found in a little spiral bound cookbook from
Pella, Iowa. I haven't made them for a while, but they're very
popular. They are very sweet, but most people love them. I used to
make them in the first letters of my family or friends names.  Someday
I want to try them adjusting the sugar and using potato candy  instead
of almond paste just to see if this would be an inexpensive  variation.
You can make the almond paste yourself, too. I have not yet  tried
either, though. I make them exactly as described below.  Here is how
they were described in the cookbook: "This is an old  recipe from my
great, great aunt, which my mother used and now I am  using. Some 25
years ago, I shared this recipe with the Central  College Auxiliary,
and we make hundreds of them each year for our  Annual Tulip Time
Celebration, and also for our Central College  International Fair."
MAKE THE DOUGH: Cut butter into flour as for pie crust. Stir in  water.
Mix to form dough. Chill overnight (or longer).  MAKE THE FILLING: Beat
almond paste until smooth. Add 2 cups of the  sugar, whole eggs, and
vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly blended.  Chill overnight (or
longer).  ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: When ready to bake the pastries, preheat
oven to  400 degrees F. Butter cookie sheets. Set aside. Remove dough
from  refrigerator, and divide into 14 equal parts. For each of the 14
portions: Roll one section of dough into a 14x4.5-inch strip. Take a
heaping tablespoon of filling and spread it down the center of the
dough strip. Lap one side of the dough over the filling. Lap the  other
side of the dough over the filling. Pinch ends shut. Shape  letter (or
leave in one long strip). Place seam side down on greased  cookie
sheet. Beat reserved 2 egg whites. Brush some of the beaten  egg white
over the pastry on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle sugar evenly  over top of
pastry. Prick with fork every 2 inches to allow steam to  escape. Bake
1/2 hour.  Posted to EAT-L Digest  by Caroline Perry
<perrywinkles@JUNO.COM> on  Feb 9, 1998

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 6549 Calories From Fat: 3430 Total Fat: 390.1g Cholesterol: 1533.2mg Sodium: 304.5mg Potassium: 1609mg Carbohydrates: 650.2g Fiber: 21.9g Sugar: 31.2g Protein: 106.9g