These are a heavenly hors d'oeuvre and are also excellent with soup or salad. The pastry is light and delicate and the filling is lavished with sour cream and sparkled with herbs.

THE PASTRY

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/2 pound cream cheese
2 cups flour
pinch of salt

In your electric mixer, cream butter and cream cheese until the mixture is blended. Add flour and salt and mix at low speed until the flour is incorporated and even. Place dough on floured wax paper and sprinkle top with a little more flour. Shape it into an 8-inch circle and wrap it in the wax paper and then foil and refrigerate it overnight.

Divide dough into four parts. Working one part at a time, roll it out on a floured pastry cloth until the dough is approximately 1/8-inch thick. Cut with a cookie or biscuit cutter into 2 3/4-inch rounds and accumulate scraps in the refrigerator to roll out at the end.

Place 1/2 teaspoon of Mushroom, Sour Cream, Herb Filling in center of each round, moisten the edges and fold over. Press edges down with the tines of a fork. Brush tops with beaten egg and pierce tops with a fork. Sprinkle top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Place piroshkis on a buttered cookie sheet and bake at 350° for about 25 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Yields about 50 piroshkis.

MUSHROOM, SOUR CREAM, HERB FILLING:

4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons flour, scanty
1 cup sour cream

Saute onion in butter until onion is transparent. Add mushrooms and continue sauteing until mushrooms are tender. Add flour and seasonings and cook for a minute or two. Add sour cream and continue cooking until mixture has thickened. Cool mixture and refrigerate.

Note: -Dough and filling should be made 1 day before assembling.
-Piroshkis can be frozen unbaked or baked.