My mom's famous raisin & walnut squares

No, no, no - I did not make it today... As I said before it is WAY too hot to bake. But I have documented this process a few weeks earlier, and today after lunch when the usual craving for something sweet came over me, I remembered about these raisin & walnut squares. And I thought I'd share them with the world, if I cannot have them, does not mean you can't. So if your weather permits to bake, I urge you to try these. You won't regret!
Thank you MOM for this recipe!


Raisin & Walnut Squares

2 sticks of butter, very cold, I even put them in the freezer for 15 min
3 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 container of sour cream ( 16 oz)
1 tsp salt
1.5 cup of raisins
1.5 cups of walnuts
1 egg, separated
1/2 cup of sugar

1. Working fast, grate 2 sticks of cold butter ( large holes side) into 2.5 cups of flour. Add salt, sour cream, and quickly mix together. Gradually add the rest 1/2 cup of flour as you mixing. As soon as you can put together a ball, stop mixing! Wrap with plastic and put in the coldest ( not freezer!!!) part of your fridge for 1-2 hours.
While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. Whisk the egg white with sugar, add to the mix of nuts and raisins. Easy, right? When the dough is ready, take out of the fridge and divide in two parts. Wrap one with plastic & put back in the fridge. Put the other one on a piece of parchment paper to fit 17x14 baking sheet and roll it out thinly. Carefully transfer parchment+dough together onto the baking sheet. Spread the filling evenly. Now put another parchment sheet on the counter and roll out the second part of the dough from the fridge. Immediately after that pick up the parchment from the counter and put it dough side down on the filling. Peel off the parchment paper. Pinch the edges.
Everything needs to be done quickly so the butter pieces in the dough wouldn't have a chance to melt. Parchment paper prevents the dough from sticking to your hands.

Now add a little water to the egg yolk and whisk. Brush all over the top of the dough, poke a few times with a fork, and into the 375F pre-heated oven for 45 min or until golden! Once it cools down, cut into desirable size pieces and sprinkle with powdered sugar if you want to make it extra fancy.

Enjoy!