Open-faced cottage cheese pastries with a flaky, buttery shortcrust dough folded around a sweet tvorog filling seasoned with vanilla and egg yolk. A beloved Russian snack and school cafeteria classic, sochniki feature a distinctive half-open shape where the dough cradles the cheese without fully enclosing it, creating a crisp golden crust that contrasts with the soft, lightly sweet filling.
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Make the dough by combining flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add cold butter cubes and cut in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overwork. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes .
Make the filling by pressing the tvorog through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Beat in the egg yolk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and uniform. The mixture should be thick enough to hold its shape.
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Line a sheet with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 4mm thickness. Cut out circles approximately 3 inches in diameter using a glass or cookie cutter.
Place a heaping teaspoon of cheese filling on one half of each dough circle, leaving a border. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling at a slight angle so the top edge does not fully meet the bottom, leaving the filling partially exposed. Press the overlapping edge gently to seal.
Arrange the sochniki on the sheet. Brush the exposed dough with beaten egg white. for 18 to 20 minutes until the pastry is golden and the exposed filling has set and lightly browned at the edges. Cool slightly before serving.
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