Cranberry Orange Rugelach Recipes

CRANBERRY RUGELACH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the softened butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead for 3 minutes or until smooth. Divide into 8 portions. Roll each portion into a ball; flatten into a 4-in. circle. Wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour., In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cranberries, walnuts, melted butter, cinnamon and allspice. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough into an 8-in. circle. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Cut into 8 wedges. , Roll up wedges from the wide end and place point side down 2 in. apart on foil-lined baking sheets. Curve ends to form a crescent shape. Brush with egg; sprinkle with additional sugar. , Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

CRANBERRY-PECAN RUGELACH

Steps:

• With electric mixer (beater), cream together butter and cream cheese. With mixer on low, gradually add in flour. Form into 3 squat disks. Wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, cover the cranberries with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. Drain. In a small bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into a 10-inch circles. Paint with the melted butter. Sprinkle with the sugar/nut mixture and cranberries. With a pizza wheel, cut into 12 wedges. Roll up the wedges and line them up on a parchment lined or nonstick cookie sheet. Paint the rugelach with the egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes or set and light golden.

CRANBERRY ORANGE RUGELACH

Steps:

• In a food processor, process walnuts until finely chopped, about 10 1-second pulses. Combine with remaining filling ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• In food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse twice to combine. Add cream cheese and butter. Process until mixture resembles coarse meal and almost begins to hold together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until it forms a cohesive mass. Cut into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball, then flatten into a disc. Wrap each piece in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment or Silpats. Combine apricot preserves with orange juice. Microwave 30 seconds or until thin enough to spread.
• Working with one disc at a time on a floured surface, roll out into a 9" circle. Brush with 1 T apricot mixture, then sprinkle with 1/4 cranberry mixture (if using a scale, this should be roughly 2 1/2 ounces). Using a long knife or pizza wheel, cut disc in quarters, then cut each quarter into 3 equal pieces. Starting from the wide end, roll each piece up, pressing lightly to seal. Place cookies, point side down, on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover sheets with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Beat egg with water. Stir cinnamon into sugar. Remove sheets from oven. Brush cookies with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake cookies in center of oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Store uneaten cookies (!) in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.