Golden Rugelach Recipes

RUGELACH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to cream cheese mixture and mix well. Divide dough into fourths. Wrap each portion; refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., Roll out each portion between 2 sheets of waxed paper into a 12-in. circle. Remove top sheet of waxed paper. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Brush each circle with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle each with 3 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar and 2 tablespoons pecans. Cut each into 12 wedges., Roll up wedges from the wide end; place pointed side down 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Curve ends to form a crescent shape. , Bake at 350° for 24-26 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Brush warm cookies with remaining butter; sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar.

RUGELACH

Steps:

• Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Remove from bowl, and divide into 3 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.
• Make the filling: In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats). On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Brush evenly with jelly. Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture and one-third of the chocolate chips. Using the rolling pin, gently roll over filling to press ingredients into dough.
• Cut the round into 16 equal-sized wedges. Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

RUGELACH

Steps:

• Cut cold butter or margarine and cream cheese into bits. In food processor pulse flour, salt, butter or margarine, cream cheese and sour cream until crumbly.
• Shape crumbly mixture into four equal disks. Wrap each disk and chill 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• Combine sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, and finely chopped raisins (may substitute miniature chocolate chips for raisins).
• Roll each disk into a 9 inch round keeping other disks chilled until ready to roll them. Sprinkle round with sugar/nut mixture. Press lightly into dough. With chefs knife or pizza cutter, cut each round into 12 wedges. Roll wedges from wide to narrow, you will end up with point on outside of cookie. Place on ungreased baking sheets and chill rugelach 20 minutes before baking.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• After rugelach are chilled, bake them in the center rack of your oven 22 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on wire racks. Store in airtight containers...they freeze very well.
• Variations: Before putting the filling on the dough, use a pastry brush to layer apricot jam as well as brown sugar. Then add the recommended filling. You may also make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar and roll the rugelach in this prior to putting them on the cookie sheets.

LORA BRODY'S RUGELACH

Steps:

• Food Processor Method:
• Into a food processor with the metal blade, place the cream cheese. Cut the butter into a few pieces and add it with the motor running. Process until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and process until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and the optional salt and pulse in just until the dough starts to clump together.
• Electric Mixer Method:
• Soften the cream cheese and butter. In a mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter until blended. Beat in the sugar and vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in the flour and the optional salt until incorporated.
• For Both Methods:
• Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and press it together to form a ball. Divide the dough into 4 portions and cover each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
• Filling:
• In a medium bowl, combine the sugars, cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts and stir with a spatula or fork until well mixed.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit on the counter for about 15 minutes or until it is malleable enough to roll.
• Place 2 oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Using a floured rolling pin, on a lightly floured board, roll out each dough portion, one at a time, into a 9-inch circle to a 1/8-inch thickness, rotating the dough often to be sure that it isn't sticking. A great method that keeps additional flour to a minimum is to roll out the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap, well floured on the bottom. Flip it over, remove the bottom sheet of plastic wrap, and dust off any excess flour. Using the back of a tablespoon, spread the dough evenly with 2 tablespoons of the apricot preserves. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of the raisin-walnut filling over the preserves. Press the filling firmly and evenly over the dough. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough circle into 12 triangles or pieces of "pie."
• Use a thin knife, if necessary, to loosen the triangles from the board. Starting at the wide end, roll up the triangle and bend the ends around to form a slight crescent shape. Place the rugelach, point underneath, about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
• Clean the work surface of excess filling before rolling each batch.
• For the topping, brush the rugelach with milk. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle the rugelach with it.
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.
• Use a small, angled metal spatula or pancake turner to transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
• Store:
• In an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.
• Keeps:
• 5 days at room temperature, 3 months frozen.
• Smart Cookie:
• • If the raisins are not soft, soak them first in 1/2 cup of boiling water for 1 hour and drain them thoroughly.
• • The apricot is stirred instead of strained because straining thins it too much and it tends to ooze out the sides of the rugelach.
• • Unbaked rugelach dough freezes brilliantly. This is a great dough to have on hand in the freezer. Simply add on about 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time. The rugelach are especially delicious still warm from the oven and are at their best when freshly baked.
• • The dough is chilled before baking to maintain the most even shape.
• • Lining the cookie sheets with parchment or foil keeps the sticky filling from baking onto the pan and makes cleanup easier.
• • Allow the cookie sheet(s) to cool completely before using for the next batch.
• • Distribute the cookies evenly around the cookie sheet. Avoid crowding the cookies into one section of the cookie sheet, leaving a large area bare.

CHOCOLATE RUGELACH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sour cream and 2 tablespoons sugar, mix until combined. Gradually beat in flour. Divide dough into four portions. Shape each into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or until easy to handle. , Preheat oven to 350°. Place chocolate, nuts, currants, cinnamon and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine jam and 2 tablespoons water. Microwave on high until thinned, 5-10 seconds; whisk., Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll each into a 10-in. circle on a well floured surface. Brush with one fourth of the jam mixture. Sprinkle with one fourth of the chocolate mixture (about a half cup), pressing lightly to adhere. Cut each into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide ends; place 2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, point side down. In a small bowl, whisk egg white and remaining 2 teaspoons water; brush over pastries. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar., Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.