Queijadas Da Graciosa

This pastry is very popular in the Azores.  The finished product looks beautiful and like it was difficult to make, but all you really do is make the pastry, put it in muffin tins and top with the filling!  Please make the filling he night before to give it time to cool off.

Serves

15 pastries

Time to Make

• Filling cooks on the stove-top for 1 to 2 hours and cools overnight in the refrigerator.
• 20 minutes to prepare and roll out dough.
• Bake 30 minutes.

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 4 cups milk
• 1 pound sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 10 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

For the Dough:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 eggs
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• water as needed
• flour as needed

Instructions

For the Filling:

1. In a saucepan, bring the milk and sugar to a boil over medium heat.  Let boil until it reduces and gets thick, 1 to 2 hours.  Let it cool slightly, then stir in the butter and cinnamon.
2. Stir in the egg yolks with a large spoon.  Bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring to prevent it from scorching and sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Remove from heat and pour the filling into a bowl to cool.  Once it comes to room temperature, cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

For the Dough:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a cupcake tin with butter and a sprinkle of flour.
2. In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt.  Push to the sides to form a well in the center.  Lightly beat the eggs and pour into the well.  Mix well.
3. Mix the melted butter into the dough.  Slowly add water and flour as needed to get a smooth and even consistency so that you can roll the dough out very thin.
4. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out very thin.  Cut into circles with a large biscuit cutter.
5. Neatly place the dough circles in the cupcake tin to form a shallow cup.  Spoon some filling in the dough-cup.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.