RUGELACH
These light and flaky pastries, popular among American and European Jews, are adapted from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan, the prolific cookbook author and winner of four James Beard Awards. The crescent shape and layers of filling might look complicated, but the dough is quite simple to put together (hello, food processor!) and easy to work with. Beyond that, it's really just a matter of rolling, spreading and cutting. These are meant to be bite-sized - about one-inch long - but if you want them bigger, go right ahead. (Should you choose to go larger, Dorie suggests rolling the dough into rectangles instead of circles and cutting the dough into bigger triangles. In that way, you would ultimately get more layers of filling and dough.)
Provided by Emily Weinstein
Categories dessert
Time 4h
Yield 36 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- To make the dough: Let the cream cheese and butter rest on the counter for 10 minutes - you want them to be slightly softened but still cool.
- Put the flour and salt in a food processor, scatter over the chunks of cream cheese and butter and pulse the machine 6 to 10 times. Then process, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds - don't work it so long that it forms a ball on the blade.
- Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 1 day. (Wrapped airtight, the dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.)
- To make the filling: Heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat, or do this in a microwave, until it liquefies. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. (Silicone baking mats are great for rugelach.)
- To shape the cookies: Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it is too firm to roll easily, either leave it on the counter for about 10 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 11- to 12-inch circle. Spoon (or brush) a thin gloss of jam over the dough, and sprinkle over half of the cinnamon sugar. Scatter over half of the nuts, half of the currants and half of the chopped chocolate. Cover the filling with a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch.
- Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges, or triangles. (The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough into quarters, then to cut each quarter into 4 triangles.) Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each cookie becomes a little crescent. Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate. Repeat with the second packet of dough, and refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes before baking. (The cookies can be covered and refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don't defrost before baking, just add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.)
- Getting ready to bake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- To finish: Stir the egg and water together, and brush a bit of this glaze over each rugelach. Sprinkle the cookies with sugar.
- Bake the cookies 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until they are puffed and golden. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or to room temperature.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 94, UnsaturatedFat 2 grams, Carbohydrate 11 grams, Fat 5 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 1 gram, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 32 milligrams, Sugar 7 grams, TransFat 0 grams
LIGHT & FLAKY CINNAMON RUGELACH
The ingredients might look the same as other recipes, but the technique is unique and the "secret" ingredient won Tina Wasserman's reputation as a baker and is now one of her most sought-after recipes. (Tina is a well-known Dallas cookbook author, chef, food columnist, and cooking instructor.) The mixing technique of the mixer allows the cream cheese and butter to really combine and become light and airy. This results in a flaky, crisp, but tender, finished product. The vigorous beating of the butter and cream cheese before adding the flour creates a light, layered dough similar to puff pastry. Rolling the dough in confectioners' sugar to give a slight glaze to the finished pastry and helps balance the richness of the dough with the sweet filling. Make sure the dough is well chilled or it will not roll out properly. *NOTE: In general, it is not a good idea to use salted butter in baked goods. However, because of the lack of liquid in rugelach dough, salted butter is the only way to get the salt evenly distributed. (The addition of a little salt is important to the flavor.)
Provided by blucoat
Categories Dessert
Time 45m
Yield 72 small rugelach
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, beat the cream cheese and butter until well combined and light and fluffy. (The mixture should feather out from the edge of the bowl.) Add the flour and turn your mixer on and off only until the flour has been incorporated. Transfer the dough to a work surface and lightly toss it on a smooth surface until it forms a compact mass.
- Divide the mixture into 8 portions, form each into a cylinder and refrigerate until dough is cold and firm, at least 1 hour. This is important; without chilling, the dough is difficult to handle.
- While the dough is chilling, combine the sugar, cinnamon, raisins and walnuts in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heavily dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar. Roll out each portion of the dough into a 6-by-9-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with some of the sugar-nut mixture. Starting at one of the long sides, tightly roll the dough into a log. Pinch the seam together and tuck the ends underneath the roll.
- Cut the filled log into 8 or 9 pieces and place, seam side down, on an ungreased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining logs of dough. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Cool completely. May be frozen.
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