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Robert St. John

Restaurateur, author, enthusiastic traveler, & world-class eater.

Easy Pastry

Easy to work with, yet delicate. Possibly the most versatile pastry going. Holds for four or five days in the refrigerator, freezes well, fries well. Works great in sweet and savory applications. Overall, a damn good pastry.

Ingredients

1 cup                 softened butter

1                        8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 /2 tsp               salt

2 cups                flour

Instructions

By hand, or using a paddle attachment on an electric mixer, combine all ingredients to form a soft dough. Do not overmix.

Wrap the dough well and refrigerate 10-12 hours before using.

When ready to use, remove dough from refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature 10-15 minutes before using.

Yield: 35-40 small pastries, or 2 pie crusts (top and bottom)

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