FOREVERMAMA'S CRESCENT RUGELACH COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar in water.
• Combine flour and salt in a mixer bowl. With mixer at low speed, beat in yeast mixture, egg yolks, cream and vanilla.
• Blend in butter 2 tablespoons at a time until incorporated.
• Wrap dough and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cookie sheets with foil. Grease foil.
• Combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle heaping tablespoon on work surface (you will be using more of the sugar/cinnamon mixture for rolling). (If necessary, you may need to make more cinnamon-sugar mixture).
• Divide dough into 10 pieces; shape into balls. Cover each ball with plastic wrap. Place balls in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. (Can be refrigerated overnight at this point).
• Roll 1 ball into an 8" circle, turning to coat well with cinnamon-sugar. Cut into 8 wedges.
• Place 1/2 tsp jam, a pinch of walnuts and a few golden raisins in the outer edge of each wedge.
• Roll up each wedge from outer edge; transfer to cookie sheet, curving to form a crescent.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake 25-30 minutes, until browned and puffed.
• Remove rugelach immediately from aluminum foil (Very important step or else they will stick to foil and you will end up having to peel foil from bottom of cookies).
• Place on wire rack to cool.
• Tip!: In order to remove seeds from raspberry jam, heat jam in a small saucepan over low heat until jam begins to melt. Pour melted jam into a sieve and with a spoon press the jam "liquid" through the sieve mesh. The sieve will separate the seeds from jam and you'll wind up with seedless jam.