Rugelach

Thanks to Claire over at Loobylu I found out about an amazing retrospective by Gourmet magazine on their favorite cookies from 1940's to today. From the section on the 2000's I made their rugelach made with apricot preserves, raisins and walnuts.

Amazingly this complicated looking cookie is actually really easy to make! One thing I did *not* do was chill the dough for 8 hours. I was just lazy. I took the dough, made the square and put it into the freezer. I then mixed and prepped the fillings and baking sheets. By that time the dough was stiff. I cut it into the four pieces and worked with each piece individually while freezing the remaining pieces again until all four pieces were done.

The result was a very cream cheese-y dough and a mince meat-like filling. Tasty and not at all dry like most rugelach I've had. I am curious though to know what the difference would have been had I chilled it for the 8 hours they recommend.

Not terribly Hannukah-y, but  special nonetheless.

Happy Holidays everyone! (pictures to come)

Rugelach

Makesabout 44 cookies

• Active time:40 min
• Start to finish:9 3/4 hr (includes chilling dough)

May 2004

This very homey recipe for rugelach was handed down through 4 generations of food editor Melissa Roberts’s family; though rugelach is typically rolled, then sliced and baked, these are scored first, baked, and then broken into individual cookies afterwards, for a wonderful variety of textures from top to bottom.

This is just one of Gourmet’s Favorite Cookies: 1941-2008. Although we’ve retested the recipes, in the interest of authenticity we’ve left them unchanged: The instructions below are still exactly as they were originally printed.

Learn how to roll out thin cookie dough—with no mess and no extra flour.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup apricot preserves or raspberry jam
• 1 cup loosely packed golden raisins, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups walnuts (1/4 lb), finely chopped
• Milk for brushing cookies

• Special equipment:

  parchment paper; a small offset spatula

• Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined well. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, then flatten (in wrap) into a roughly 7- by 5- inch rectangle. Chill until firm, 8 to 24 hours.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of a 1- to 1 1/2-inch-deep large shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
• Cut dough into 4 pieces. Chill 3 pieces, wrapped in plastic wrap, and roll out remaining piece into a 12- by 8-inch rectangle on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment, then transfer to a tray and chill while rolling out remaining dough in same manner, transferring each to another sheet of parchment and stacking on tray.
• Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.
• Arrange 1 dough rectangle on work surface with long side nearest you. Spread 1/4 cup preserves evenly over dough with offset spatula. Sprinkle 1/4 cup raising and a rounded 1/4 cup walnuts over jam, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar.
• Using parchment as an aid, roll up dough tightly into a log. Place, seam side down, in lined baking pan, then pinch ends closed and tuck underneath. Make 3 more logs in same manner and arrange 1 inch apart in pan. Brush logs with milk and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of remaining granulated sugar. With a sharp large knife, make 3/4-inch-deep cuts crosswise in dough (not all the way through) at 1-inch-intervals. (If dough is too soft to cut, chill until firmer, 20 to 30 minutes.)
• Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to warm in pan on a rack, about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board and slice cookies all the way through.

Recipe by Melissa Roberts

Comments

[Mrs. L]

Happy Holidays to you too!