Cottage Cheese Puff Pastry

1. Beat cottage cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined with most cottage cheese curds intact, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times.

2. Stir flour into butter mixture gradually with a wooden spoon just until a soft dough forms that is no longer sticky; turn dough out onto a floured surface. Bring dough together with floured hands; knead 3 to 4 turns.

3. Roll dough gently into a fairly thick square, fold in half, and pat to flatten again; fold dough in half again in the opposite direction. Repeat rolling and folding process 2 more times. Roll dough into an 8-inch square; divide into 4 equal portions. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 4 hours or up to overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Roll one portion of dough out on a lightly floured surface 1/4-inch thick. Cut dough into 4-inch squares with a sharp knife; cut each square diagonally to make 2 triangles.

6. Roll each dough triangle from the long edge toward the triangle point to form crescent shapes; place on prepared baking sheet.

7. Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove to cool on a wire rack.

8. Whisk confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a bowl until smooth; brush or drizzle lemon glaze over tops of cooled crescents.

Cook's Notes:

Baking margarine can be substituted for butter.

You can also make the pastry by placing cottage cheese, butter, and flour in the bowl of a food processor; pulse several times until a soft dough forms. Knead and form dough as instructed in Step 2.

This dough will be soft and spongy; the whole process of bringing the dough together, gently kneading, and folding will only take a minute or two.

Freeze remaining uncooked dough for future use, or leave in the fridge for up to 5 days.

For jam-filled crescents: drop 1 teaspoon jam in center of each triangle; roll up triangles and bake as directed.

Baked crescents can be stored at cool room temperature, covered, for up to 5 days or refrigerated.