Rugelach

Until the other day when I saw Rugelach in the Bake Along schedule, I did not know what it was. On google-ing i gathered, Rugelach is  is a Jewish cookie traditionally rolled in the form of a crescent... somewhat like a croissant. Though according to wiki, the yeast-leaved-sour-cream-dough versions are much older, it is the cream cheese dough-ed ones that pop up most when you look for Rugelach recipes. so i chose to bake my first batch of Rugelach with cream cheese dough following the recipe from The Kitchn.

The recipe was for 64 rugelach cookies and for a change I decided to make the full recipe.... partly because I wanted to try out the various fillings and partly because it is wonderful to have your freezer stuffed with goodies when you are expecting lots of visitors in the next few weeks... I filled the first fourth of the recipe with peanut butter and chocochips. while they tasted good, I did not like the way they looked. I had stuffed them too much causing the chocochips to  peep from every which way (not a pretty sight)... so i postponed posting the recipe till i had my second batch ready. these i filled with apricot jam and a mixture of nuts and raisins. they were nice and light... and the flavor grew on us as we popped in more and more of them...my husband who isn't a big fan of apricot jam also liked it. in fact he had six in a row... and then said "these wil taste great with orange marmalade, hazelnut and chocochip filling .." I kind of agree with him on that. think i'll try that combo for the third batch...   

now the recipe...

Rugelach Recipe Source: The Kitchn

ingredients for the dough  2 cups flour 1/4 tspn salt 1 package (8 ounces) cold cream cheese, cubed 2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 egg yolk powdered sugar the fillings i tried Jam and dry fruit 3 tablespoons apricot jam mix of pistachio, walnuts, almonds, cashews, raisins Peanut Butter and Chocochip 1/4 cup peanut butter miniature chocochips milk or egg wash for glazing   the method combine the flour and salt in a bowl. add the cream cheese and butter cubes over the flour and using your finger tips work up the added ingredients  until the mixture becomes crumbly. alternatively, add the flour, salt, cheese and butter into the jar of your food processor and pulse a few times till the mixture becomes crumbly. now whisk the egg yolk and vanilla in a bowl and pour it over the flour mixture. then either using your hands your hands or the food processor work up the mixture until the dough starts to clump together. i kneaded it using the kneading attachment of the hand mixer and within a couple of minutes had a smooth nice dough. once the dough is ready, turn it into the counter, divide into 4 equal parts, shape each into a disc, wrap the discs in plastic and refrigerate for atleast 2 hours or up to 3 days. In case you do not plan to use the dough within the next 3 days, freeze it for up to 3 months (thaw in the refrigerator before using.)   when ready to bake, sprinkle some powdered sugar on a sheet of parchment paper. take a disc of the dough from the refrigerator and leave it on the counter top for about 10 minutes. meanwhile prepare the filling as mentioned below. once the dough becomes soft enough to work with, place it between the sheet of parchment paper sprinkled with sugar and a plastic sheet and using the rolling pin roll it into a 1/8 inch thick disc. spread the filling evenly in a thin layer over the surface of the dough. if using a topping of nuts or chocochips, press them lightly into the dough so that they do not fall  off when you begin to roll the dough into crescents. then using a pizza cutter or sharp knife slice the disc into 16 wedges and starting from the wide outer edge and moving inward roll each wedge into a crescent. now align the crescents on a baking sheet and refrigerate it for the next 20 minutes. meanwhile preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and begin working on the next batch of rugelach. glaze the chilled cookies with milk or egg wash and bake them in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown. let the baked cookies rest for 5 minutes before serving.  the fillings: for the jam and dry fruit filling, warm the jam in the microwave till it liquefies  about 35 seconds. set it aside to cool. pulse the dry fruits in a food processor or put it in a plastic bag and hammer the contents with rolling pin  until they break into small pieces. to assemble, spread the jam on the rolled out dough and sprinkle the dried fruit on top.  for the peanut butter and chocochip filling, warm the peanut butter in the microwave until it liquefies  then spread it on the dough and sprinkle it with the chocolate chips.  storage :  the cookies can be kept in air-tight container at room temperature for about a week or can be  frozen for up to 3 months.

It was nice to bake these lovely cookies along with Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings, Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and the others who Bake Along with them... Looking forward to baking the Chocolate Cream Pound Cake next week. wouldn't you like to join ?

Sharing these at the following parties...

Monday Food : Made with Love Mondays, Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's,  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What's for Dinner Mom, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Mop It Up Monday, Mealtime Monday, Recipe Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party

Tuesday Food:  Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop , Tasty Tuesday

Wednesday Food : What's Cooking Wednesday @ Confessions of Overworked Mom, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain ,  Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2, Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network

Thursday Food: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes