This is a favorite cookie/pastry of mine, I have not had them in about 15 years, they were a staple in the kosher bakeries of my youth living in southern california, they usually had raspberry or apricot filling and are most definitely not rugelah, the dough is different and the whole mouth feel is not the same…i have tried a few rugelah recipes and though the ingredients seem the same, the chilling and rolling are not and make for a whole different item…..though these are not as good as I remember, I think they are good enough to share! a few hints, they are not meant to be sweet, they do not bake well on silpat lined sheets, they like to cool a long time before removal from tray, they should not be eaten for at least 12 hours after baking, though they taste good, they do not set completely to be what i remember the bakery ones feeling like and for handling alone let them rest!
ingredients
all at room temperature!
8 oz unsalted butter ( in the US that is two sticks)
8 oz cream cheese, block kind not from the tub
2 cups all purpose flour
filling
8-10 ounces cold preserves or jelly
(I used apricot, but any you like would be good)
topping
1 egg, beaten
approx 3/4 cup granulated sugar
about 1/4 cup powdered sugar
cut the butter and cream cheese into even sized chunks and run in the food processor until evenly blended, then open top and add 1 cup flour, incorporate and then reopen and add the other cup flour, do not overmix, but when it forms up like it wants to be a ball
then on a well floured surface with well floured hands and pin, take a third of the dough (yes this dough may seem loose or light to you but believe me it holds up) and form into a ball and knead just a little until it will roll out, mine rolled about 1/4 inch thick into a circle about 14 inches in diameter, does not need to be a perfect thickness or circle….i then took the straight edge of a hard scraper and cut this ovalish circle into about 10-14 sections about 2×3 inches is the best size but I made some huge ones too, just to play around and see how they baked, they are best when the final product is 2-3 bites, and they do shrink in the oven, I cut the dough into these sections then when they were all cut i put them all on a sheet tray that was buttered (with the butter wrappers from the butter in the dough) even on non-stick trays they like to stick and the pans can be a pain to clean!
I put 1 teaspoon preserves in the middle of the dough portion and picked up and pinched two sides together around the apricot preserves (on some I put too much and it really needs to be just a little since it melts and spreads in the oven) After the whole tray was filled and pinched, I beat an egg and with a pastry brush egg washed the tops, dough and preserves alike to get the sugar to stick, I generously sprinkled granulated sugar over each one and put in a 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes, remove from oven and let cool on the tray for 20 minutes, then remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack…I sprinkled them generously with powdered sugar while holding a pie plate under the cooling rack to catch and reuse the powdered sugar…..I had some warm, good but not great, but the next morning….AFTER they were completely cooled WOW the flavor was much better…so plan on lots of cooling time especially if you want to put then in a tin or on a plate as a gift, they hold up better in movement when more than 12 hours old and still taste better and better a few days old! I store them in a tin with the lid askew so they do not soften up again, I have tried them in the fridge as well and that works well in airtight containers, just not more than 3 days in the fridge cause they never last that long! Hope the hints help, I am new to all this and wish I had better skills! Hope you or your gift recipient enjoys!
Posted by glitzypursegirl on 2012-12-17 15:42:49
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