4.9.13

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 CooksMeatless Monday @Veggie Mama's Meatless Monday My Sweet and SavoryJust 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

30 comments:

  1. These look like mini croissants...

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    Replies
    1. that was my first reaction too. but as you can see they are a lot easier to make.

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  2. omg rugelach looks superb:) i too have tried this but an eggless version and will be posting it soon :) looks lovely flaky like a puff crust and love the filling :)

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    Replies
    1. I'll wait for your eggless version Manjula. Initially I too was thinking of trying an eggless version but then i decided to follow the recipe for my first lot.

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  3. I fell in love with making rugelach ever since I saw a mother-daughter pair make some on Martha Stewart. Yum!

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    Replies
    1. I hadn't thought about that... now that you mention I think it is a good recipe to work along with your kids.

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  4. Your rugelach looks great! I tried once and it didn't succeed and I have no time to bake it again for the bake along :( Shall keep the recipe you use for future reference! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jasline. I am sure it'll work next time.

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  5. Hi Tanusree,
    Your Rugelach looks perfect! The different fillings sounds good to me.
    Glad that Bake-Along has inspired us to try something new.
    Nice to have you Bake-Along with us.
    Hope you have a wonderful week!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Joyce. I am really enjoying baking along.

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  6. Hi Tanusree,

    Your mini rugelach look very impressive! Did you manage to make 64 of these? Did your family and you manage to finish them all? I must admit they can very addictive to eat.

    Zoe

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    Replies
    1. i know they are very addictive so i worked quick and froze half a dozen cookies soon after they cooled down. I still have 2 more dough disc in the freezer. planning to make them when guests arrive.

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  7. Delicious rugelach, I wanted to make for long time not yet got it. I will try. your post rekindle my rugelach love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess thats what we always do.. rekindle old passion and inspire each other :)

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  8. I LOVE rugelach cookies - and yours look simply perfect! I didn't realize these were traditionally made with yeast and sour cream, but I've made the cream cheese version before and they're also so tasty...

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    Replies
    1. aren't Rugelach Cookies one of the best :)

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  9. hi tanusree, you are right..i think less is better when it comes to filling for rugelach. They can be very messy and untidy when it comes to the rolling part..infact i think mine was also a little over stuffed . Hey, i see that you are playing with the focus on your camera, nice effects :)

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    Replies
    1. oh yes... they can be so messy and glad that you noticed the effects. i am experimenting a bit these days :)

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  10. Hi Tanusree, your rugelach look so nicely rolled and delicious.

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  11. Yum, your rugelach look perfect to me! Thanks for sharing at Foodtastic Friday. Don't forget to sign up for the Back-to-School Social Party!

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  12. I love rugelach! Thanks so much for linking up to Friday Food Frenzy -I am off to checkout all those recipes now.

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  13. My daughter the baker loves these and she's never made them. Can't wait to show her the recipe. Thanks for sharing it with us on foodie friday.

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    Replies
    1. I am sure your little baker will enjoy baking a batch for herself. Its a simple recipe to work through.

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  14. Rugelach are one of my all time favorite cookies- yours look wonderful!

    Mal @ The Chic Geek

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  15. Wow, love those cuties dear..Looks like croissants & makes my mouth water :)

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  16. These look wonderful! I've been wanting to make these cookies for the LONGEST time and still haven't gotten around to it... I'll have to give them a try soon! Yours look delicious!!!

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Thanks for stopping by. It was nice having you here. Have a good day.

Take care and come back soon.
Best, Tanusree

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