Cranberry-Pecan Wedges

Ingredients for dough:

1 cup butter, softened

1 package (8 ozs.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Ingredients for Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

2/3 cup finely chopped sweetened dried cranberries

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground allspice

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese together at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Stir in the flour and salt. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions; flatten each portion; wrap each one separately in plastic wrap. Chill for 8 hours.

In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients for the filling until blended. This will yield about 1 1/2 cups of filling. In a small bowl, lightly beat one large egg.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll 1 portion of dough at a time into an 8-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Spread with 3 tablespoons cranberry-pecan filling, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Cut the circle into 8 wedges; roll up wedges, starting at the wide end, to form a crescent shape. Place each crescent, point side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush egg gently on each crescent; sprinkle evenly with sparkling sugar. Repeat this procedure with the remaining dough and filling.

 Bake at 350 degrees on a lightly greased baking sheet for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yields: 64 pastries.

Note: Sparkling sugar can be found at stores that sell cake-decorating supplies.