Join “Jayni’s Kitchen” this week for “Holiday Cookie Bake.”

Host Jayni Carey and her guest, Lanie Smith, of Topeka, will prepare the following recipes: Cherry Pecan Crescents, Toasted Orange-Cranberry Almond Macaroons and Spiced Raisin Baklava.

A new show airs at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6. The show also is broadcast at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday; 9 a.m., 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesday; 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday; 9:30 a.m. Saturday; 10:30 p.m. Sunday; and 10 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Cherry pecan crescents

Dough:

1 cup unsalted Plugrá European butter, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten (reserve whites)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

Filling:

2 1/4 cups chopped pecans

3/4 cup dried cherries

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest, finely grated

1 teaspoon cherry flavored extract

Powdered sugar for dusting

Dough: In a large mixing bowl, blend the softened butter, sour cream and egg yolks using a wooden spoon. Gradually add the flour, stirring with a spoon to incorporate. Using your hands, form the dough into a smooth ball. Divide the dough in half, making two 5-inch disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

In a food processor, pulse the nuts and cherries until fine, about 1 minute. Add the sugar, salt, milk, lemon zest and cherry extract and pulse a few time to blend. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly beat the reserved egg whites with a wire whisk or fork and set aside. Dust a rolling pin and a clean work surface with flour. Roll out the dough until very thin (as for pie crust). Cut circles using a 2 or 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter. Fill each circle with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the nut filling. Lightly brush the inner edges of the dough circles with the egg white and fold the dough over the filling to seal. Press the edges with fork. Place the crescents on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until light gold. Remove and cool on a baking rack.

When completely cool, lightly dust the crescents with powdered sugar and store in the refrigerator. Makes about 5 dozen.

Toasted orange-cranberry macaroons

3 cups shredded sweetened coconut

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest, finely grated

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

3/4 cup sliced natural almonds

Special items needed: parchment paper, cookie scoop

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the coconut, condensed milk, salt, zest and extract. Fold in the chopped cranberries until evenly incorporated.

Scoop the macaroons with small cookie scoop and place almond slices in a flower pattern on each scooped mound. Release the mounds 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. (The almonds will be on the bottom.)

Bake the macaroons for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned on the tops and around the edges. Remove them from the oven and quickly reshape the bottoms of the macaroons with a rubber spatula if needed. Let cool before removing from the parchment. Makes about 20 macaroons.

Spiced raisin baklava

Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup orange blossom honey

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1 vanilla bean, whole

Filling:

3 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups golden raisins

1 teaspoon fresh orange zest

1/2 cup golden brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup unsalted Plugrá European butter, melted

1 16-ounce package phyllo dough, thawed

Syrup: In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine the sugar, water, honey, orange juice and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes. (Don’t let the mixture boil over.) Remove the pan from heat and cool.

Filling: In a large food processor, combine the walnuts, raisins, orange zest, brown sugar and spices. Pulse for approximately 1 minute, until nuts are fine and raisins are well chopped.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Unroll the phyllo sheets and place one in the pan. (Trim sheets to fit the pan if needed.) Using a pastry brush, gently brush the entire sheet with melted butter. Top with another sheet and repeat the process 10 times, coating each sheet completely with melted butter. Top with about 2 cups of the filling. Press down lightly. Repeat the process again, layering six more sheets of phyllo dough with melted butter. Spread with the remaining filling mixture on top. Add the remaining phyllo sheets (about 6), again brushing each one with butter. Cut the baklava into 6 large squares, cutting just halfway through the phyllo sheets. Cut an X into each square to create four triangles.

Bake the baklava for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool on a baking rack. Remove the vanilla bean from the cooled syrup and drizzle over the warm pastry. When cool, cut the baklava and place each triangle on foil wraps and refrigerate. Makes 24 triangles.