Endlessly Adaptable Rugelach

 

Call them rugelach or nut horns or cream cheese cookies. Fill them with jam or ground walnuts or chocolate chips. Nix the cream cheese and make them with sour cream. However you make them and whatever you call them, you'll get no argument when it comes time to eat these buttery little cookies. Guaranteed.

I love good, crispy rugelach that flake like pie crust when you take a bite. To this end, I follow Dorie Greenspan's expert advice and make the rugelach dough in a food processor. The quick action of the blade means that the butter and cream cheese are cut into the flour rather than absorbed by it, making little pockets that puff and crisp in the oven.

Since the dough is so easy to make and provides such a blank slate, I often prepare a few batches and give everyone their favorite fillings. Rugelach with ground nuts and honey are a must-have in our house. My husband also begs for non-traditional peanut butter and chocolate, and I have my own soft spot for simple cinnamon-and-sugar.

Go classic or go wild, but definitely go make yourself a batch. Rugelach won't disappoint.

Rugelach

Recipe can be halved or doubled as needed.

Makes about 64 cookies

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 ounces) cold cream cheese

1 cup (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

1 batch Rugelach Filling (recipes follow)

Powdered sugar

Combine the flour and salt in a food processor fit with a blade attachment. Cut the cream cheese and butter into large chunks and scatter them over the flour. Attach the lid and pulse 10 to 12 times until coarse crumbs form.

Whisk together the vanilla and yolk and pour over the butter-flour mixture. Run the food processor continuously until the dough starts to clump together and form large curd-like pieces. Turn the dough out onto the counter and gather the pieces into a ball. Divide it into four portions, flatten each into 1-inch thick disks, and refrigerate for at least two hours or up to three days.

When ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Prepare the filling.

Sprinkle the counter and your rolling pin with powdered sugar. Take one disk of dough from the refrigerator and let it warm on the counter for just a minute or two. Roll the dough from the center out into a uniform circle about 1/8-inch thick. Don't worry if a few cracks form near the edges. Use more powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking.

Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough. With a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, slice the dough into 16 wedges, like a pizza. Begin at the wide outer edge and roll inward. Transfer each cookie to the baking sheet. Make sure the tip is tucked underneath.

Refrigerate the cookies on the baking sheet for 20 minutes before baking. Meanwhile, continue preparing the remaining batches.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cookies are golden-brown. Cool on the sheet for five minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Repeat shaping, chilling and baking the remaining batches of cookies.

Rugelach can be stored in an airtight container for three days or frozen for up to three months.

Nut Filling

1 cup (4 ounces) walnuts

1 cup (4 ounces) pecans

1/4 cup (2 ounces) butter, melted

1/4 cup (2 ounces) honey

1/4 cup (2 ounces) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using a food processor, grind the nuts in 30 to 40 pulses until they break into tiny crumbs. (Be careful of over-processing and making nut-butter!) Combine the ground nuts with the melted butter, honey, sugar and vanilla extract.

Dried Fruit And Jam Filling

1/4 cup (5.5 ounces) marmalade, apricot jam or raspberry jam

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 cups (roughly 10 ounces) dried fruits, such as apricots, cranberries, cherries or currants

Warm the jam in the microwave until it liquefies. Stir in the sugar. Set aside to cool until still liquidy, but no longer steaming. Pulse the dried fruits in a food processor until they break down into tiny pieces.

To assemble, spread the jam onto the rugelach dough first and then sprinkle the dried fruit on top.

Brown Sugar Streusel Filling

1/2 cup (2.5 ounces) all-purpose flour

2/3 cup (2.5 ounces) packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 cup (2 ounces) softened butter

Whisk the flour, sugar and cinnamon together. Add the butter. Use a fork to mash the butter into the dry ingredients until they become crumbly.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Filling

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Warm the peanut butter in a microwave until it liquefies. Spread over the rugelach dough and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

 

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Endlessly Adaptable Rugelach

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