Rugelach

I remembered the very first time I attempted rugelach was in a total mess.  The dough was very soft and I had a hard time rolling it up but the taste was buttery and full of flavour.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember which recipe I took from as it disappeared from my hard disk.

Thus when Bake Along chose this theme, it gives me a reason to try again.  This time round, I selected Dorie Greenspan's.  A book lie totally neglected.

I love buttery pastry and I love nuts, so I happily go about it.  

Guess I have no luck with Rugelach, history was repeating itself.  Initially I thought all will be well untill I started rolling the disc.  It was stressful, my first disc didn't come to 11", it was too sticky for me to roll as well.  

Next cutting the number of pieces as indicated in the recipe was another obstacle I encountered.  It became too small for me to roll with all the fillings on it.  My first tray turned into an ugly mess that I am too shy to show here.

Second tray, I reduced the number of pieces.  It was also difficult to roll up because the dough was really soft despite me chilling it again after topping up the fillings.  I had to use a spatula to ease it into a roll.  By then, I was only hoping for at least some pieces decent enough for a photo shoot.

Haiz... Guess Rugelach is not meant for me even though I would say this is delicious despite the ugly presentation.

No waste but definitely not good enough to serve on a plate.

Perhaps you will have better luck than me.
    

What you need:
Dough

113g cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces
113g cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
38g chopped pecan
38g plump, moist dried currants
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Filling

2/3 cup raspberry jam,apricot jam or marmalade (1/4 cup apricot jam)

2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup nutella

Method: dough

Let the cream cheese and butter rest on the counter for 10 minutes - you want them to be slightly softened but still cool.

Put the flour and salt in a food processor, scatter over the chunks of cream cheese and butter and pulse the machine 6 to 10 times. Then process, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds - don't work it so long that it forms a ball on the blade.

Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. 

Shape each half into a disk, wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 1 day (wrapped airtight, the dough can be frozen up to 2 months)

Heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat, or do this in a microwave, until it liquefies. 

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.

Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats 

Spoon or brush a thin gloss of jam over the dough, and sprinkle over half of the cinnamon sugar. 

Scatter over half of the nuts, half of the currants and half of the chopped chocolate. 

Cover the filling a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch.(spread nutella)

Using a pizza wheel or a shape knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges or triangles.

The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough into quarters, then to cut each quarter into 4 triangles. 

Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each cookie becomes a little crescent. 

Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate. 

Repeat with the second packet of dough, and refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes before (the cookies can be covered and refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don't defrost before baking, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.)

To shape the cookies

Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it is too firm to roll easily, either leave it on the counter for about 10 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11- 12 inch circle. 

Spoon or brush a thin gloss of jam over the dough, and sprinkle over half of the cinnamon sugar. Scatter over half of the nuts, half of the currants and half of the chopped chocolate. 

Cover the filling a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch.(spread nutella)

Using a pizza wheel or a shape knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges or triangles.The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough into quarters, then to cut each quarter into 4 triangles. 

Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each cookie becomes a little crescent. Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate. 

Repeat with the second packet of dough, and refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes before (the cookies can be covered and refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don't defrost before baking, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.)

Getting ready to bake

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 170ºC

To Glaze

Stir the egg and water together, and brush a bit of this glaze over each rugelach. Sprinkle the cookies with the sugar.

Bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until and they puffed and golden. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

Storing: The cookies can be kept covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. They're are great for sharing! 

This post is linked to Bake Along 'Rugelach' organised by Bake for Happy Kids, Kitchen Flavours and Frozen Wings.