DAY 15: Rugelach
A traditional Eastern European (often Jewish) nut cookie. It’s satiny soft dough made with butter, cream cheese, and sour cream wraps around a filling of sugar, nuts, and raisins.
Once baked, the dough flakes like a Danish or croissant, and the melted filling bursts with flavor. With a generous dose of cinnamon, these “little twists” fill the house with warmth and comfort.
Crust:
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup cream cheese
- 1/3 cup sour cream
Filling:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 3 to 4 teaspoons cinnamon, to taste
- water for brushing dough
1) To make the crust, place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly to combine. (Or blend with a pastry blender if you don’t have a food processor).
2) Cut the butter and cream cheese into chunks and add to the bowl along with the sour cream. Pulse until crumbly. Pieces of butter and cream cheese about the size of green peas should still be visible in the dough.
3) Divide the dough into three equal portions. Wrap well in plastic wrap, pressing each gently into a disc. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.
4) To make the filling, process the sugar, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon in the food processor until finely chopped and well combined. The filling should feel slightly moist to the touch.
5) Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Working with one piece of dough at a time, place it on a very lightly floured surface. Roll it to a 10″ circle and brush it lightly with water. Use your fingers to spread about 1/3 of the filling onto the round. Press the filling down into the dough gently to anchor it.
6) Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, divide the dough into 8 equal wedges. Roll each wedge up, beginning with the wide end and ending with the narrow end. Place the rolls point-side down on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of dough.
7) Bake the rugelach in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. As the rugelach bake, the butter will lightly fry the bottoms, yielding a crunchy crust and caramelized base. Serve warm with tea or coffee; or cool and dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving. Yield: 24 rolls
Yield: 24 rugelach
(Recipe and Photo Credit: King Arthur Flour)
COUPONS FOR INGREDIENTS:
All-Purpose Flour: $1/1 Hodgson Mill Flour or Cornmeal printable, $1/1 Ultragrain All Purpose or White Whole Wheat Flour printable
Salt: $0.40/1 Diamond Crystal Salt (SavingStar Deposit)
Butter: $1/1 Challenge Butter Product printable, $0.75/1 Smart Balance Spreadable Butter & Blended Butter Sticks printable
Cream Cheese: $0.50/1 Kalona Super Natural Organic Milk, Buttermilk, Whipping Cream, Half & Half, Butter, Cottage Cheese or Sour Cream printable, $1/1 Challenge Cream Cheese printable
Sour Cream: $0.35/1 Smith’s Sour Cream or Dip printable, $0.50/1 Heluva Good! Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dip or Bold Chunk Cheese printable, $1/2 Daisy Brand Sour Cream Target printable
Brown Sugar: $0.55/1 C&H Quick Dissolve or Pourable Brown Flip Top Package printable, $0.55/1 Domino Quick Dissolve or Pourable Brown Flip Top Package printable, $0.75/1 Imperial Sugar Product printable
Walnuts: $1/1 Fisher Recipe Nut Item Of Any Variety printable, $1/1 Diamond Baking Nuts, exp. 12/31/13 (Publix All The Trimmings Booklet )
Cinnamon: $0.50/1 Nash Brothers Trading Company Organic Ground Cinnamon printable, $0.50/2 McCormick Spices, Herbs, Extracts, or Food Colors printable