Martha Stewart's Rugelach

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

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

These cookies have a perfectly balanced texture. They are tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside. They are absolutely delightful to eat and so cute to look! If you don’t want to go for all this decoration, you can very well just mix the chocolate chips and walnuts in the cookie dough and save yourself a lot of time. However, I feel that decorating these cookies do bring out the flavor in them. You get a chocolate chip in every bite and then the center has a big whole walnut! You can bake these and gift them to your friends and family. After all they do look store bought! 

If you start researching on Chocolate Chip cookies, you will find that all the recipes are not so different from each other. There will be a difference in amount of flour and sugar, or perhaps the nuts (Pecans instead of Walnuts). Some even use Milk chocolate chips instead of regular ones. But believe me the whole process of baking and decorating the cookies, do have a big impact on the flavor. 

So, give this recipe a try and don’t forget to share with friends and family. After all, who can say no to these beautiful cookies. In the meantime, I am just going to go and grab another one for myself. Believe me I am trying to control but these cookies are yummylicious. I think I will just bake a separate batch for my friends!

If you like the recipe, please share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and don’t forget to post your comments, pictures and suggestions.

Ingredients:

• Unsalted Butter – ½ cup
• White Sugar – ½ cup 
• Brown Sugar – ½ cup, packed 
• Egg - 1 
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon 
• All-Purpose Flour – 1 ½ cups 
• Baking Soda – ½ teaspoon 
• Hot Water - 1 teaspoon 
• Salt – ¼ teaspoon 
• Semisweet Chocolate Chips - 1 cup 
• Whole Walnuts - about a cup 

Preparations first:

• Place the Butter in the stand mixer bowl for an hour to let it soften up
• Measure all the ingredients and put them aside.
• Place the Egg on the kitchen counter to bring it to room temperature.
• Sift the White Sugar and Flour to remove any lumps.

Directions:

• Cream together the Butter, White Sugar and Brown Sugar until smooth. 
• Beat in the Egg.
• Stir in the Vanilla Extract. 
• Dissolve Baking Soda in hot water. 
• Add to batter along with Salt. 
• Stir in flour.
• Refrigerate for half an hour (this will help the butter to harden up a bit thus making it easier to form into shape).
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Roll into balls and arrange on the baking sheet lined with parchment. Make sure to leave some space between the cookies.

Tip: If you have kids helping you, this is a good time to ask them to make the balls and decorate.

• Decorate with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts (Note: You can also mix the toppings in the cookie dough if you want to save some time but see how cute they look!)

• Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are nicely browned. 

Recommended Reading:

• Basic Kitchen Measurements
• Mixed Nuts Cookies
• Colorful Biscotti (with Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans)
• Vanilla Biscotti
• Mathri (Savory Indian Cookies)
• Boozy Cookies
• Mary Berry’s Chocolate Apricot Cake (Homemade Sacher Torte)
• Martha Stewart's Rugelach
• One Dough Different Cookies
• Loaded Nuts Cookies
• Fork Pressed Chocolate Chip Cookies
• My Scrumptious Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Easy Peasy Peppermint Cookies
• Shortbread Cookies with a hint of Carom Seeds

Boozy Cookies

With the winter knocking on our doors, what could be more delicious to go with a cup of hot coffee than a cookie! 

Now you be careful while sharing these cookies because they have alcohol in them. Foodies I bring to you a cold weather favorite of grown ups – Boozy Cookies. These cookies are inspired by fruitcake not only in their taste but in appearance as well.

Start by soaking Dried Cherries, Cranberries and Walnuts for 1-2 days in Brandy. Mix them in the cookie dough, bake and enjoy!

Make sure to bake a different type of cookies (example: chocolate chips) for the kids so that you don’t get all mixed up. Remember, these special cookies are for grown ups only. 

Ingredients:

• Granulated White Sugar - 1 ¼ cups 
• Brown Sugar – ½ cup  
• Unsalted Butter – ½ cup
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon 
• Egg - 1 large 
• All-Purpose Flour - 1 ¾ cups
• Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon  
• Salt – ¼ teaspoon  
• Dried Cranberries + dried Cherries – ¾ cup 
• Brandy – ¼ cup 
• Walnut Pieces – ½ cup

Others:

• Parchment paper
• Baking Tray
• Cooling Racks
• Spatula

Do ahead:

• Toast the Walnuts lightly on a pan over medium heat.
• Dip the Walnuts, Cranberries and Cherries in Brandy. 
• Toss to coat. 
• Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preparations prior baking:

• Place the Butter in the stand mixer bowl and let it sit on your counter top for an hour to come to the room temperature.
• Keep the Egg outside as well so that it also comes to room temperature (makes it easier to mix).

Directions to mix and bake:

• Start the stand mixer and beat the Butter.
• Line the baking tray with parchment paper.
• Add the Brown Sugar in the mixer. Continue beating on medium speed. 
• Add the Granulated White Sugar and Vanilla Extract in the bowl. Beat until fluffy. 
• Add the Egg. Beat just until blended. 
• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• Sift and mix the All-Purpose Flour, Baking Soda and Salt together. 
• Add the dry products in small portions to the butter mix. Beat on low speed to mix.
• Stir plumped Cranberries, Cherries and Walnut pieces into the cookie dough (Note: The Brandy will be fully absorbed by the nuts, if it isn’t then don’t add it in the dough because it will make it runny).

• Roll into rounds and place them apart on the baking sheet. 
• Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned.

Tip: Touch the top of the cookies, if it’s firm then the cookies are baked through.

Recommended Reading:

• Basic Kitchen Measurements
• Mixed Nuts Cookies
• Colorful Biscotti (with Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans)
• Vanilla Biscotti
• Mathri (Savory Indian Cookies)
• Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
• It's all about Cranberries‼
• Martha Stewart's Rugelach
• 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

Colorful Biscotti (with Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans)

I baked this Biscotti a few days back and it was so perfect I immediately decided to add it in the blog. I have to admit that ever since I have started watching ‘The Great British Bake Off’ show on Netflix, baking has been easier and fun. I have seen many baking tips and tricks in the show and they have proved really helpful. For this Biscotti, I used a salad topper mix which I got from Costco but you can also get individuals packets of Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans and mix them together. For those who don’t know, Pepitas are actually pumpkin seeds so if you are allergic, just skip them. Also, I would recommend to use a serrated knife to cut the Biscotti because it would be easier to slide the knife and cut and there will be less crumble. So, without further ado, let’s bake these yummy Colorful Biscotti.

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil -  2 tablespoons 
• White Sugar -  ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons 
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon 
• Almond Extract -  ¼ teaspoon 
• Egg -  1, large
• All-Purpose Flour -  ¾ cup and 2 tablespoons 
• Salt - 1/8 teaspoon (only if the nuts or not salted)
• Baking Powder -  ½ teaspoon 
• Dried Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans – 1 cup

Photo shows the salad topper mix which I got from Costco and used to prepare this Biscotti.

Directions:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Spray/ grease it lightly with oil.
• In a large bowl, mix together the Olive Oil and Sugar until well blended. 
• Mix in the Vanilla and Almond extracts.
• Beat in the Egg. 
• Combine the All-Purpose Flour, Salt (optional) and Baking Powder in another bowl.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Gradually stir the Flour mixture into the Egg mixture. 
• Mix in the Dried Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans by hand (use a rubber spatula). 
• Divide the dough in half. 
• Sprinkle a little flour on the kitchen counter and use more to roll the dough.
• Form two logs on the baking sheet (about 7 inches long). Use the bench scrapper to lift and shape the logs. 
• Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. 
• Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F.
• Transfer the loaf to a cutting board and using a serrated bread knife, start cutting the slices. They should not be too thin, about half inch thickness is good. Cut them at an angle or straight.

• Remove the parchment paper.
• Lay on sides directly on the baking sheet. 

• Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry.
• Once out of the oven, turn the sides so that they crisp evenly (The baking sheet will be hot so the other side will absorb the heat and crisp up). 

• Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes.
• Store in an airtight container and enjoy with tea or coffee.

Serrated Knife:

• An essential tool for trimming and halving cake layers is a long serrated knife. I also use it to cut bread slices or to smoothly cut out Biscotti. 

Bench scraper:

• I use it not only for scraping the extra frosting off the cake but also to divide the bread dough into equal quantities. It can also be used to scrape the biscotti dough from the kitchen counter and evenly press or shape it.

Recommended Reading:

• Basic Kitchen Measurements
• Vanilla Biscotti
• Boozy Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
• It's all about Cranberries‼
• Martha Stewart's Rugelach
• 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

Vanilla Biscotti

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Debarshi Chatterji

As you know I have been experimenting with Biscotti for some time now. I feel that the best way to understand a new recipe is to try it again and again. I continue to improvise the recipe till I feel confident that this is the one I would like to share with everyone. The ingredients below will make only a couple of servings which is perfect when you are trying this for the first time. Hopefully you will like these yummy crunchy biscuits as much as I like baking and sharing them.

So, what is a Biscotti?

Biscotti is an Italian biscuit (or cookie) which is baked twice. So, once the dough is kneaded, it is baked till it gets firm. It is then removed from the oven and cut into oblong shaped pieces. It is then baked again which creates that dry, crunchy texture on them. Just like cookies, biscotti can also be prepared with various ingredients like almonds, cranberries, pistachios, chocolate and even lemon or orange zests and because they are dry you can easily store them for a long period of time. 

Biscotti and Cake rusk:

As I have told you before, there are quite a few items in our Indian bakeries which bear a remarkable similarity to the French or Italian baked products. We have a biscuit in India which we call Cake Rusk and it tastes very similar to the Vanilla Biscottis. I matched the ingredients of the cake rusk and biscotti and found them to be alike.  However, when we proceed to baking, the methods are different. Biscottis are baked by shaping the dough in the form of a log whereas a cake rusk is baked in the form of a cake by pouring the batter inside a baking tray. After the initial baking both the biscotti and cake rusk are cut into pieces and toasted which brings that crunchy texture. 

How to enjoy this delicious biscuit?

Since biscotti is dry, it is best to pair it with a beverage. I read that the traditional pair of biscotti is a sweet wine called Vin Santo. However, personally I love to enjoy it with a cup of coffee. Debarshi likes to eat his biscotti by dunking it in his tea and I am sure kids will enjoy this crunchy biscuit with a glass of milk. Pair this with whatever you like best, this yummy crunchy biscuit goes well with everything.

Ingredients:

• Butter – 4 tablespoons
• White Sugar – ¼ cup and 2 teaspoons 
• Egg - 1 
• Vanilla Extract – ¼ teaspoon 
• All Purpose Flour - 1 cup 
• Salt - 1/8 teaspoon 
• Baking Powder – ¼ teaspoon 

Let’s Prep:

• Keep the butter and the egg on the kitchen counter. This will help to bring the egg to the room temperature and soften the butter. Leave them out for about half an hour.
• Line a baking pan with foil. Grease it lightly with oil.
• Keep a piece of parchment paper handy.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, cream the Butter and Sugar together. If using stand mixer, use the whisk. 
• Once it looks all mixed up and creamy, add the Egg and beat until fluffy. The batter may look slightly curdled, but it’s ok.
• Stir in the Vanilla Extract. 
• Sift together the Flour, Baking Powder and Salt.
• Now this step is very important. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir with a spoon or spatula until the dough comes together. Don’t over mix it or the dough can become tough and dense. I never use my stand mixer for this step as it can easily over knead the dough.
• Wet your hands with water or vegetable oil, this will help to work with the dough. 
• Roll the dough into a log about 15 inches long. 
• Place the log onto the baking pan lined with foil. 
• Flatten the log out until it is about 3 inches wide with a slight hump going down the middle. 
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, loaf should be firm. 
• Remove the loaf from the oven. 
• You may switch off the oven at this time.
• Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes, but not much longer. Set a timer for 10 minutes that should give you a buffer to pre heat the oven again and cut the loaf.
• Turn the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. 
• Transfer the loaf to a cutting board and using a serrated bread knife, start cutting the slices. They should not be too thin, about half inch thickness is good. Cut them at an angle.
• Place the cookies on the baking pan lined with the parchment paper. Lay them on one side with one to two inches of space in between each cookie.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. 
• Take out the pan carefully and turn all the cookies using a kitchen tong.
• Return to the oven and bake the other side for another 10 minutes.
• Switch off the oven and take out the baking pan.
• Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool for about 30 minutes. 
• Store in an airtight container for 3-4 weeks.

Tips:

• Substitute the sugar with a zero calorie sugar like Truvia.
• If the room is cold it may take longer for the butter to melt, you can microwave it for about 30 seconds to melt it.
• Make sure you are not dropping any egg shells in the mixing bowl. If you are having trouble, use a small bowl. Crack each egg into the bowl, check for shell fragments, then pour it into the mixing bowl. This is also a great way to make sure that we are not using any rotten eggs.
• If you want to increase the number of servings, the amount of all the ingredients will increase accordingly. The number of eggs will also increase. Now, whenever you are adding more than one egg, make sure to beat each egg well into the mixture before adding the next.
• The reason I used foil during my first bake is to prevent the loaf from getting over baked. I had been trying this recipe with parchment paper and every time after 15 minutes, the loaf would get so brown on the bottom that I had to take it out. The foil gave me enough time to get a proper bake on the loaf.
• Don’t forget to line the baking pan with an aluminum foil for the initial baking, this will help a quick clean up.
• Use a spray or brush to grease the foil. 
• After the first baking, we are letting the biscotti cool down a bit so that we can get clean slices. Now this waiting time is crucial, if you don’t wait and cut too soon, you will not get clean slices, on the other hand, if you wait too long then the dough will harden, making it difficult to cut. Touch the loaf cautiously to check if it has cooled down a bit. If its too hot, it is not yet ready to be cut. 
• A serrated knife allows you to slice the loaf neatly without putting any pressure on it. Cut the loaf in a sawing motion.

• You may cut the slices straight that will yield small biscottis. If you want long and elegant slices, then you need to cut the logs at an angle.
• Don’t forget to transfer the biscottis to a cooling rack as soon as they have finished the second bake. This will make them crisper as they cool.
• Biscotti stays crisp at room temperature. I always store it in an airtight container.

Recommended Reading:

• Basic Kitchen Measurements
• Colorful Biscotti (with Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans)
• Boozy Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
• Martha Stewart's Rugelach
• 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