Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Rugelach


I first made these a few years ago at Christmas. They were delicious but a real pain in the butt. I had a really hard time rolling up the little crescent shapes without the filling falling out - and I made it even more difficult for myself by not using any jam in the filling which would've helped things stick. I made these again at Christmas this year and this time used mini chocolate chips (you have to use either mini chocolate chips or fairly finely chopped chocolate), blackberry jam, and walnuts. And once again they were delicious. And I have come to accept the fact that I can't make 16 equally size crescents out of a round of dough I've rolled out. I really need to work on my rolling out dough skills.


If you've never had rugelach, I highly recommend you try making it. It's made with a most tasty cream cheese dough and wrapped around whatever kind of filling you like. Traditionally I think they're made with jam, nuts and maybe chocolate - but there are so many other possibilities out there. Peanut butter chips and jam. White chocolate and strawberry jam. Toffee, nuts and chocolate. Chocolate coconut. These also freeze really well - not that you'll have trouble getting rid of them.


If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pecan Tassies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dunkers
Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Toblerone Cookies


Rugelach
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Use the amounts of jelly, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate as guidelines for coming up with your own creations. I don't think I've ever added the cinnamon.

Makes 4 dozen

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp plus a pinch of salt
1 large whole egg, plus 3 large egg yolks
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (4 ounces) walnut halves or pieces
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 cup plus 2 tbsp (12 oz) jam, melted
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp salt; beat until combined and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each. Mix in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour to combine.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide into three equal pieces, and shape into flattened disks; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line there baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a food processor, pulse together the walnuts, remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the cinnamon, and pinch of salt until finely ground; set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one disk of dough into a 10 inch round about 1/4 inch thick. Brush the top evenly with melted jam. Sprinkle with a third of the walnut mixture and a third of the chocolate chips. Using the rolling pin, gently roll over the round to press the filling into the dough.

Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the round into 16 equal wedges. Beginning with the outside edge of each wedge, roll up to enclose filling. Place about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Lightly beat the whole egg, brush over tops.

Bake two sheets, rotating halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining baking sheet. Rugelach can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

They look perfect to me--love those mini chips! :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I'm quite intimidated by making rugelach, since they're quite a pain (as you said, haha) - yours look PERFECT!!

The Pumpernickel said...

These look delicious, I must give this recipe a try.

Though I must note the humor in baking a Jewish pastry of Ashkenazic origin for Christmas.

kickpleat said...

i love rugelach, but i usually just buy a bag full at solly's deli! these look like work but they look delicious.

Dana Treat said...

I've only made a savory rugelah and I agree - they are a total pain. But everyone loves them. You did a great job!

Anonymous said...

These are lovely. Your photography is so well done.

Snooky doodle said...

oh these look perfect. Delicious and those chips so gorgoeus!!

Steph said...

I think those look perfect! What do you mean about dough rolling skills, you have them. I sort of regret missing this one for TWD.. maybe when I have more time to worry about perfectly sized cookies, I can try it out. I think I would get all stressed from thinking about certain cookies overcooking before the other ones are done.

Chris said...

I tried making rugelach once with so-so results - the dough was dense and the filling cloying. There are so many recipes flying around this time of year regarding the perfect rugelach, but I think I'll stick with the traditional recipe this time. Thanks for this!

The Duo Dishes said...

Did you say toffee, nuts and chocolate? Sold!

Anonymous said...

These look great! I made Rugelach back in November for TWD and was surprised by how much I enjoyed them.

Maris said...

Your look professional! But I do agree with you, they can be a bit of a fuss to make.

Unknown said...

If making the crescents isn't so important to you, you can roll out the dough, do the filling and roll the whole thing up and cut it into inch long pieces. Often, while they're baking, the sides expand anyway.

Anonymous said...

Rugelach is on my big to-do list, so it's great to see them done by another blogger! They look wonderful and now I can't wait to get to them!

Unknown said...

Your photos are gorgeous! I haven't tried this particular recipe, but I made Rugelach for TWD and really enjoyed them.

Elyse said...

YAY! I love rugelach! It is so delicious. I've never tried to make it myself, but your post has totally inspired me to get in the kitchen and do it. Man, these look delicious!

Amy said...

Mmm they look wonderful! I've never tried rugelach before (that being said, my pastry and dough rolling skills are dismal which is probably why!).

grace said...

good for you for not cheating and using puff pastry. :)
rugelach rules, and it's as simple as that. :)

Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer said...

These look better than what you would find in the Deli!!

CookiePie said...

YUM - I love rugelach! And yours look pretty darn perfect to me!

Maria said...

Oh yum! I wish I could sample these:)

Unknown said...

I've never tried rugelach but these look great! Cream cheese dough is surely wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Those are absolutely beautiful! They look super tasty!

Sara said...

These look delicious! I love rugelach but I'm very intimidated to make them.

test it comm said...

Those look really good! I could go for a few this morning for breakfast!

Dana said...

These look incredible, I've seen them before and always wanted to try them...esp the chocolate version. I almost always don't have cream cheese when I want to make them though.... I wonder if I can substitute something else for the cream cheese?
Great blog, as a fellow vegetarian who loves baked treats, I'm glad I've come across it.

Cheers!

eatme_delicious said...

Dana: Thanks so much for stopping by! =) You could try using butter instead of cream cheese and it would be good though the texture might not be as soft?

Dana said...

thanks so much for your reply. I find most blog owners (particularly food bloggers for some reason) don't reply to their comments or even answer questions about their blog topic or recipe, so what a nice change..thanks! I do know its hard as sometimes you just get so many comments and so many posts..so it's even nicer that you take the time to reply..thanks!

I think I'll wait and make these with the cream cheese, as I think you're right, it must help give them a softer texture. I notice if I make a pie/tart crust with cr cheese, it does make a difference. I look forward to trying these really soon!
thnx again :)

Alexandra Leigh said...

I'm a little late on commenting, BUT! I made these last year around christmas and again this year. They're cooling off on my counter right now! They are a little time consuming but soooo worth it. I let my first batch be the ugly batch and the other two are usually way prettier. Thanks for the recipe!!

eatme_delicious said...

Alexandra: Yaey glad you like them. :) These are a favourite of mine too.