Rugelach Recipe

Rugelach is a Jewish rolled pastry tradtionally filled with jelly, nuts, sugar, and cinnamon. They are extremely tasty and easy-to-make. Don't let the amount of steps ahead fool you. These are actually not that complicated.

While they are a very common pastry in New York, here in San Francisco they are a bit more rare. When you can find them at a bakery here, they typically retail for over a dollar a cookie. Considering this recipe yeilds 48 rugelah and uses cheaply acquired ingredients, you could consider this project a solid return on investment. Even though it may be tempting to eat them all, don't forget to give tzedakah by spreading the wealth of pastry-goodness around.

You will need:

8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar (give or take)
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 egg
1 teaspoon milk
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup currents
1 cup walnuts
1 jar apricot preserves
1 jar raspberry preserves
1 semi-sweet chocolate bar

Start making the dough by mixing together the cream cheese and butter in a mixer at medium speed. It should start to get light and fluffy.

Add 1/4 cup of sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the dough. Continue to beat it the mixture at a medium speed.

Add the flour and mix it in at the lowest speed until just combined.

Roll the dough into a ball and place it on a well floured surface.

Cut the ball into four quarters and wrap each section in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate the balls for an hour.

Chop the walnuts into a fine pieces.

Mix together 1/3 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a large bowl.

Mix the nuts, raisins and currents into the filling.

Shave a bar of semi sweet chocolate into a pile of chocolaty goodness.

Roll the first ball of dough out into a 10" diameter circle.

Spread the preserves thinly over the dough and then generously sprinkle on the filling.

Once spread around, press the filling down gently into the dough.

Slice the dough into twelve equal triangular wedges.

Roll each triangular wedge inward starting from the widest edge.

Place the rugelach onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Then, cover it with aluminum and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or so).

Mix together the remainder of the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl to create a topping mix.

Beat together an egg and a tablespoon of milk into a small bowl to create an egg wash.

Take the rugelach out of the refridgerator.

Remove the wax paper and transfer the rugelach directly onto the baking sheet.

When placing them, keep in mind that they have a tendency to spread.

Brush the egg wash over the rugelach.

Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mix over the egg wash.

Bake the rugelach in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

They should turn a light golden brown.

After they have baked, quickly transfer the rugelach to a cooling rack.

After having spent all of that time and effort, the only thing left to do is to enjoy your fantastic rugelach.

Don't forget to share.