Pumpkin Rugelach Recipes

PUMPKIN-SPICE RUGELACH

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand-held electric mixer), cream the cream cheese, butter, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the flour and salt, and then mix just until a smooth dough forms. Divide into 4 equal disks if making crescent shapes or 4 equal squares if making pillow shapes. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour or up to overnight.
• In a small heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt the white chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, and then whisk in the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Cool completely, and then chill for at least 1 hour.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment lightly coated with cooking spray.
• To shape crescents, remove one dough disk from the refrigerator, and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 9-inch circle. Spread one-fourth of the filling on the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch edge, and then slice into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge into a crescent shape from the outside edge in.
• Alternatively, to make pillow shapes, remove one dough square from the refrigerator, and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into an 8-inch square. Spread one-fourth of the filling on the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch edge at the top and bottom. Slice the square in half. Starting at a long end, roll each half into a cylinder from the outside in, and then cut each rolled half into six evenly sized pieces.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk. In another small bowl, combine the turbinado sugar and cinnamon. Arrange 12 rugelach on one of the prepared baking sheets. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with the sugar mixture. Bake until golden-brown, 16 to 21 minutes. Cool slightly before serving. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

PUMPKIN RUGELACH WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and salt until blended. Gradually beat in flour. Divide dough into 3 portions. Shape each into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. , Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine pumpkin, 3 tablespoons sugar, honey and vanilla. Mix cinnamon and remaining 1 cup sugar. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough into a 14-in. circle. Spread each with a third of the pumpkin mixture and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar mixture., Cut dough into 12 wedges. Roll up from wide ends; place 2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, point side down. Whisk together egg and milk; brush over pastries. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture., Bake until bottoms are browned , 18-22 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, beat icing ingredients; drizzle over pastries. Let stand until set.

PUMPKIN RUGELACH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. In the bowl of a food processor, combine cream cheese, butter, flour, 1 tsp. sugar, and salt. Process until large crumbs form and just cling together. Remove dough from processor and place on lightly floured work surface. Gather into two balls and form into disks. Wrap separately and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Lightly flour work surface. Roll out dough to an 11-inch circle. Spread a thin layer of pumpkin butter (about 1/4 cup) over the pastry circle. Combine 1 tbsp. sugar with 1 tbsp. brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle half of this mixture over the pumpkin butter. Sprinkle 2 tbsp. of the pecans over this mixture. Use a pastry wheel or a pizza cutter to cut the pastry circle into 16 wedges. Starting at the base of each wedge, roll up the wedge to form a crescent. Arrange crescents on parchment-lined baking sheets, making sure to tuck the points in the center of each crescent underneath to prevent the rugelach from unrolling. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Brush refrigerated crescents with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastries are puffed and golden brown. Let cool on rack. Serve these with afternoon tea, coffee, or mulled cider to drive away the chill on a fall afternoon.

RUGELACH

Steps:

• Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the raisins, and walnuts.
• On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons apricot preserves and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling lightly into the dough. Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges?cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

PUMPKIN RUGELACH

Steps:

• Prepare the dough. Cut the butter and cream cheese into tablespoon-sized pats and let soften for 10-15 minutes. Pulse the flour and salt in the food processor, and then add the semi-softened butter and cream cheese and pulse several times, until the mixture has formed large crumbly chunks (this can also be done very easily with a pastry knife, if you've got a sleeping baby and don't want to use the food processor). Gather the dough together into two large balls, flatten into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for two hours or up to overnight. While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmery. Toss in the chopped shallots, sage, and aleppo and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin puree and cook for 5 minutes more, to help evaporate some of the water in the pumpkin. Season with two healthy pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from the heat to cool down (the filling should not be hot when you spread it on the dough). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the dough has chilled, roll each disk into a 12" circle on a well-floured board. Make sure you flour the underside of the dough often, so that it doesn't stick. Spread half of the cooled pumpkin filling onto each disk, and then distribute half of the finely chopped walnuts over each disk. Using a bench scraper (or knife, or pizza cutter), cut the dough into 16 triangles. Roll up each triangle, starting from the base, to form a crescent, and place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Beat the egg with a teaspoon of water and brush lightly onto the rugelach. Top each rugelach with flaky sea salt or finely grated parmesan (I prefer the sea salt, my husband prefers parmesan, so I make half of each kind). Bake for 25 minute.

BEST EVER RUGELACH

Steps:

• Combine cottage cheese and 1 cup of butter in a bowl. Mix thoroughly, then gradually stir in the flour. Dough will be sticky. Divide dough into thirds and wrap with waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of butter with the brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and raisins. Set aside. Roll one ball of dough at a time to a 9 inch circle on a floured surface, while keeping the remaining dough chilled. Spread 1 tablespoon of the optional orange marmalade over the circle. Gently press 1/3 of the nut mixture into the dough. Cut the circle into 16 wedges. Roll each wedge tightly, starting with the wide end. Place the cookie point-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Beat the egg white with the water in a small bowl, then brush the mixture onto each cookie.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

PUMPKIN GINGER RUGELACH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray.
• Remove crust from pouch; unroll on work surface. In medium bowl, mix cream cheese, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice with spoon until smooth. Spread mixture over crust to within 1/4 inch of edge. Sprinkle with pecans and ginger; press slightly into dough. Cut into 16 wedges. Roll up starting with wide end. Place point side down on cookie sheet.
• In small bowl, beat egg and milk; brush over tops of pastries. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Serve warm or cool.