Holiday Rugelach Recipes

HOLIDAY RUGELACH

Steps:

• In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until creamy and smooth. Add 5 cups flour and combine. Add remaining flour in small batches, stopping when dough no longer sticks to sides of bowl (not all flour may be needed). If dough remains sticky after all the flour is used, add a little extra flour.
• Remove dough from mixing bowl; divide into four equal pieces and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough, one piece at a time, to rectangles of 1/8-inch thickness. With a sharp paring knife, score dough into 3-inch squares.
• Fill half the pastry with prune butter and half with apricot butter: Spoon one teaspoon of filling into one corner of each square, adding 3 or 4 raisins to the prune filling. Roll up each square from corner to corner, bending it into a crescent shape. Brush with egg wash.
• Combine sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle about a teaspoon over each crescent.
• Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Cool on baking racks.

RUGELACH

Steps:

• Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the raisins, and walnuts.
• On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons apricot preserves and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling lightly into the dough. Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges?cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

FESTIVE HOLIDAY RUGELACH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets; set aside.
• In large bowl cream butter and cream cheese. Slowly work in 3 cups flour. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces and shape into squares. Lightly flour dough, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Combine remaining 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
• Remove one piece of dough at a time from refrigerator; roll out on surface dusted with flour-sugar mixture to 18x5x1/8-inch thick strip.
• Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle dough strip with 2 tlbs sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup M&M's on wide end of each strip. Roll dough starting at wide end to completely enclose baking bits. Cut strip into 1 1/2 inch lengths; place seam side down about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
• Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake 16 to 18 minutes until golden. Cool completely on wire racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Store in tightly covered container.
• ***Variation***.
• For crescent shapes, roll each piece of dough into 12 inch cirle. Sprinle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Cut into 12 wedges. Place about 1/2 tsp M&M's at wide end of each wedge and roll up to enclose baking bits. Place seam side down on prepared cookie sheets and proceed as directed.