Maple Nut Rugelach Cookies Recipes

MAPLE-NUT RUGELACH COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat together cream cheese, butter, sugar, maple syrup, salt and egg yolk in large bowl until smooth.
• Beat in flour just until blended.
• Shape into ball and refrigerate about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile prepare filling: Stir together walnuts, 1/3 c sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon in medium bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 large baking sheets.
• Divide chilled dough in half, and roll one half out on lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Trim dough to form a 10-inch circle.
• Spread half of walnut mixture evenly over dough.
• Cut circle into 16 wedges, like you would cut a pizza (A pizza-cutter works great).
• Starting with wide end, roll up each wedge jelly-roll fashion (Will look like a little crescent roll).
• Place on baking sheet, point side down.
• Repeat with remaining half of dough.
• Lightly beat egg white with water, and brush over cookies.
• Sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.

WALNUT AND BROWN-SUGAR RUGELACH

Steps:

• In a food processor, blend butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and salt until well combined. Add flour, and pulse just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days, or freeze up to 3 months (thaw before baking).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine egg with 1 teaspoon water to make an egg wash.
• Working with one disk at a time, place dough on lightly floured parchment paper, and roll out into an 11-inch circle (about 1/4 inch thick), dusting lightly with flour as needed. Using a large dinner plate as a guide, cut around dough to make a perfect circle; trim off and discard scraps. Brush circles with egg wash; dividing evenly, sprinkle with walnuts and brown sugar.
• Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut each circle into 16 equal triangles. Starting from the wide end, roll up each triangle of dough; place on lined baking sheets, seam side down. Brush rolls with egg wash.
• Bake until golden brown, 30 to 32 minutes. Transfer rugelach to a wire rack to cool completely.

WALNUT RUGELACH

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper.
• Beat 1/4 cup white sugar, butter, and cream cheese together in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla.
• Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until dough is just combined. Divide dough into 3 equal portions; shape each portion into a disk, wrap disks in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Beat egg white in a bowl with an electric mixture until frothy. Mix walnuts and 1/2 cup white sugar into egg white.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Remove dough from plastic wrap and roll each disk out into a 7-inch circle. Spread 1/3 the egg white mixture onto each dough circle, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edge of each circle. Cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up each wedge from the edge to the point and place, point-side down, on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool and dust with confectioners' sugar.

MAPLE NUT GRANOLA COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Blend flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Mix brown sugar and butter in another bowl to form a smooth paste. Add eggs; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add flour mixture; beat until a smooth dough forms. Stir in granola, coconut, and chocolate chips.
• Drop teaspoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheet.
• Bake until lightly browned on top, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

RUGELACH (FILLED CREAM CHEESE COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl or food processor, cream the butter and cream cheese together.
• Add the pinch of salt and sugar.
• Beat in the flour, a little at a time.
• Knead the dough lightly until all the flour is incorporated.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Prepare one of the fillings by combining the ingredients (except the 1/4 cup sugar for the topping) and set aside.
• Flour the surface you will be rolling out the pastry on very generously.
• This is a delicate dough and is apt to stick.
• Roll out one of the portions of dough into a 10 inch in diameter circle.
• With a knife or pastry wheel, cut the pastry into 10-12 pie-shaped wedges (depending on how large or small you want the rugelach to be- I go for smaller).
• If the dough is sticky, dust it with a little flour.
• Sprinkle or spread a little of the filling of your choice on each little wedge.
• Beginning at the wide edge, roll the dough up toward the point, as you would make a crescent roll or a croissant, turning the ends in slightly to achieve the crescent.
• Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with a tiny bit of the topping sugar (this step can also be done just before baking and ensure that the sugar is not knocked off in the freezer).
• Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
• At this point, I pop the cookie sheet directly into my freezer and freeze the rugelach individually.
• When frozen, I pack them into ziploc bags to use at whim over the holidays (and not just) so they can be freshly-baked for any occasion.
• Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden, brushing with melted butter after 15 minutes if desired.

APPLE BUTTER RUGELACH

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: In a stand mixer or in a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, on medium, beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and beat until just combined. Don't overwork it. Tip the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and press it together into a ball, using the wrap to help. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a 6-inch circle and wrap each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. (Dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.)
• In a small bowl, mix together the apple butter, honey, sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
• On a floured surface, roll one slab of dough out to a 11-inch circle with neat edges. (If, at any point, the dough becomes too soft, you can transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop it in the fridge for a few minutes.) Spread half of the apple butter mixture on the top of the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Sprinkle with half of the walnuts and half of the currants. With a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 equal triangles. Starting from the wide end, gently roll each triangle up and tuck the end under. Transfer to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough, apple butter mixture, nuts and dried fruit, and transfer to another prepared sheet. Refrigerate until cold, about 15 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush each cookie with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until they are puffed and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets once. Transfer the sheets to a rack to cool.

MAPLE-NUT COOKIES WITH MAPLE ICING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In 8-inch square pan, bake pecans 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light brown. Spread nuts on cutting board; cool 5 minutes. Finely chop.
• In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon maple flavor and the egg until well blended. Stir in flour and chopped toasted pecans.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped in granulated sugar.
• Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.
• In small bowl, mix icing ingredients until smooth; drizzle over cookies.