For Debarshi’s birthday this year, I decided to try a few recipes from the Martha Stewart’s baking handbook (gifted to me by my best friend). You will not believe it but this book has some amazing recipes. They are not the usual muffin and cookies but rather new things which always impress me. I just love learning new things. Today’s recipe is Rugelach.
What is a Rugelach?
Rugelach is a filled sweet pastry. It originated in the Jewish community of Poland and is also quite popular in the cafes and bakeries of Israel. We do not have anything resembling a Rugelach in India so this was a totally new thing for me. I had no idea how it will taste except that it had some very delicious ingredients and fillings in it. Just imagine them as cookies where a filling of nuts and chocolate is rolled up in a triangle of dough. They are small in size (bite sized – 1 inch long), look fancy but believe me making them is quite easy.
What is in a Rugelach?
Rugelach dough is kneaded with cream cheese and butter. It is then chilled, rolled into a big round and filled with ingredients of your choice. I omitted Cinnamon from the recipe because Debarshi is not too fond of it but if you want you can add it. The ground nuts and jelly with the chocolate chips make it super yummy. You can of course use different fillings to make different batches.
I made the dough in my stand mixer which made it tender but not overly wet. Remember we will be using butter and cream cheese and they may start to melt and make a mess if you use your hands. Another option is pastry cutter which is a little labor intensive but helpful. My stand mixer makes the dough super fast thus reducing the possibility of butter run down/ clean up situations.
Don’t forget the egg yolks! They add another level of richness to the dough. The egg wash also brings a decadent color on them. I think Rugelach is the best way to enjoy bakery level pastry at home, they are delicious and making them at home doesn’t involve too much hassle. Now just because they are so easy to make you may be tempted to make them on a rotation basis. However, do keep in mind that this is not a super healthy recipe so maintain a little restraint while consuming it. The balance between salt (in the dough) and sweet (in the filling) makes this unbelievable delectable flavor which always makes me take one more (my head says ‘Control’ but my heart refuses to follow).
How to shape a Rugelach?
While there are quite a few ways of rolling the Rugelach (you can roll the dough and slice it, making it a flat spiral), the book asked for rolling the dough into a big round and then slice it like thin pizza slices (use a pizza cutter) and roll them into crescent shape. I think the latter makes the Rugelach look store bought and is easy too. You may feel that rolling individual Rugelach is a bit much but I just love this shape. If you feel that you are not able to roll it perfectly, don’t worry, they will still taste buttery and flaky and just the right amount of sweet.
Make it a fun project with friends or kids
Making rugelach is easy especially once the dough has been kneaded. If you like baking with friends, this could be a very good recipe for you. Just imagine this as making your own pizza. Roll up the dough and spread the fillings on it, slice it and roll it up. This is like baking a sophisticated cookie where you are doing a few extra steps and baking something nice. I am sure kids will like it too because they can add their favorite jam/ jellies and fillings. If your plans change, you can always freeze the dough and make the Rugelach some other time whenever you want.
The very first batch I made, filled my mind with all these amazing filling ideas, not only sweet but savory as well. So, I decided to give savory Rugelach a try.
Seriously if you love the sweet Rugelach, try my savory twist as well.
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
- Unsalted Butter - 2 sticks, room temperature
- Cream Cheese - 8 ounces, room temperature
- Granulated Sugar – ¾ cup
- Egg Yolks - 3 large
- Pure Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
- Salt – ¼ teaspoon plus a pinch
- All-Purpose Flour – 2 1/3 cups, plus more for dusting
For the Filling:
- Walnuts – 1 ¼ cups, halves or pieces
- Sugar – ½ cup
- Cinnamon – a pinch (optional)
- Salt – a pinch
- Apricot Jelly – 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons, melted
- Mini Semisweet Chocolate Chips - 1 cup
- Raisins – 1 cup
For the Finishing:
- Egg - 1 large
- Fine Granulated (Icing) Sugar – ¼ cup, for sprinkling
Directions:
Make the dough:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add ½ cup granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt, beat until combined and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each (Read: Basic Kitchen Measurements to know how to easily separate the egg whites and yolks).
- With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour to combine.
- Mix in vanilla.
- Turn out the dough on a lightly floured work surface.
- Divide into 3 equal pieces and shape into flattened disks, wrap each in plastic.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. (Tip: I froze the dough overnight then thawed it in fridge for 4-5 hours, it helped shape the dough better).
Make the filling:
- In the food chopper (or processor), pulse together the Walnuts, remaining ¼ cup of granulated Sugar, Cinnamon (if adding) and pinch of Salt until finely ground.
- Set aside.
- Mix the Chocolate Chips and Raisins in a bowl.
To Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F with racks in the upper and lower thirds.
- Line three baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one piece of dough into a 10-inch round, about ¼ inch thick.
- Brush the top evenly with melted jelly.
- Sprinkle with a third of the walnut mixture and a third of the chocolate chips and Raisins mixture.
- Using the rolling pin, gently roll over the round to press the filling into the dough.
- Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the round into 16 equal wedges.
- Beginning with the outside edge of each wedge, roll to enclose filling.
- Place about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets (I put the rolled side down, it helps to hold it together).
- Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients.
- Lightly beat the whole egg, brush over tops and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
- Bake two sheets, rotating halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with remaining baking sheet.
- Rugelach can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Love cookies? Try these recipes as well:
- Mixed Nuts Cookies
- Mathri (Savory Indian Cookies)
- Vanilla Biscotti
- Colorful Biscotti (with Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans)
- Boozy Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
- One Dough Different Cookies
- Loaded Nuts Cookies
- Fork Pressed Chocolate Chip Cookies
- My Scrumptious Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies with a hint of Carom Seeds
