Making Rugelach

When I was little, my grandma taught me how to make a cookie she called "Juicy Biscuits"...or maybe she said Jewish biscuits and my little ears translated.  She always made them with grape jelly and walnuts.  I never thought this was weird as a kid, though now, it does seem a little funny.  All I know is it was fun to make and they were delicious.

When I was older, I wanted to make the cookies on my own, but had lost the recipe.  It took me a lot of searching and research before I figured out they were actually called "Rugelach" and they were a traditional Jewish pastry.  After searching for a recipe that seemed familiar, I found this one on Epicurious: Rugelach (Gourmet | May 2004).  The recipe is actually pretty easy, but a little labor intensive.  If I am going to make it, I normally commit to making 2 or 3 batches at a time.

I definitely recommend keeping the dough refrigerated before and after rolling it out until it is ready to be filled and rolled.  The recipe says to chill for 8 - 24 hours, but I have done it in just a few hours with the same success.  I bake them whole and then slice them after they have cooled, which is different from the traditional method of doing the crescent shape or cutting them before baking.

Flavor varieties - you can go crazy with fillings.  I have heard of ones made with chocolate or apple filling.  I tend to mix and match using a variety of jams (raspberry, apricot, fig, and of course, grape), nuts (pecans or walnuts), and dried fruits (raisins or craisins).  I might have one with fig, craisins, and pecans and another with apricots, raisins, and walnuts.  If you like really sweet things, use the raspberry with the craisins and pecan.  I normally just mix and match until I run out of dough or the other ingredients.

These are often made as a holiday cookie, but I they are quite delicious and I would recommend them pretty much any time of year.  I will say this: I have tried to make them in July.  If you can't control the heat and humidity with some powerful air conditioning, you are in for a challenge.  You have mere moments to get the dough in and out of the fridge before it starts melting.  Were the cookies still delicious?  Absolutely.  Would I want to do that again?  Not so much.

Here is a photo montage of the batch I made at Christmas this past year.  I forgot to take pictures of the actual making of the dough, so it picks up from after the dough has been chilled.


Rugelach
Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com

• 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

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.

Rolled out dough - thin, but 

not so thin it will tear when assembled.

Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.

Arrange 1 dough rectangle on work surface with a long side nearest you. Spread 1/4 cup preserves evenly over dough with offset spatula. Sprinkle 1/4 cup raisins and a rounded 1/4 cup walnuts over jam, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar.

The Fillings

Jam spread on the dough, cinnamon sugar, nuts, and dried fruit sprinkled on top.

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.