Rugelach
Rugelach is a Jewish pastry of Ashkenazic origin that is eaten any time of year, including, but not limited to Shabbat. Despite the fact that it is not fried in oil, some sources indicate that they are traditional on Hanukkah. Traditional rugelach are made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling. Some sources state that the rugelach and the French croissant share a common Viennese ancestor, crescent-shaped pastries commemorating the lifting of the Turkish siege in 1793. An alternative form is constructed much like a strudel or nut roll, but unlike those, the rolled dough and filling is cut into slices before baking.
Rugelach can be made with sour cream or cream cheese doughs, but there are also pareve variants with no dairy ingredients, so that it can be eaten with or after a meat meal and still be kosher. Cream cheese doughs are the most recent, probably American innovations, while yeast leavened and sour cream doughs are much older and still made in Europe.
Flakiness in dough is predominantly determined by two factors: gluten development (or lack thereof) and laminations (layering of fat and dough). Cream cheese would produce a more tender/flaky product because less handling is required - yeast needs time to proof and rise in order to have any effect, and yields a more bready result. Cream cheese vs yeast rugelach is like the difference between puff pastry and croissant dough - both are laminated doughs, and thus have layers, but the process for making a croissant yeast dough requires light kneading and proofing, thus developing gluten.
Rugelach (cream cheese variation)
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For the dough:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2-pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
For the filling:
6 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup apricot preserves, pureed in a food processor
For the topping:
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Add the cheese and butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat 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 circles into 12 equal wedges - cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Arrange the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet(s) 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 until lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven to a wire rack and let cool. Arrange on a large platter and serve.
4 dozen cookies
Rugelach (yeast version)
posted by Caroline H. on https://food52.com/
Real Jewish rugelach (from Europe or Israel) are made with yeast and do not have cream cheese. Here is my great grandmother's recipe from the old country.
Cream 1/2 lb. butter. Break one 2-oz cake household yeast into butter and mix. Add 1 cup sour cream and mix. Add 3 egg yolks, and mix in one at a time. Add 3 cups of flour and mix well. Put in refrigerator overnight.
Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 TB cinnamon. On waxed paper sprinkle a little sugar mixture. Dip 1/5 of dough (as a ball) into sugar; and then roll out into a circle until it is about 12" diameter. Keep rest of dough in refrigerator so it won't stick when it is worked. As dough is being rolled, keep sprinkling with the sugar mixture. After rolling, sprinkle with more sugar mixture and keep a thin layer of sugar mixture on the board so dough won't stick to it.
Cut into 8 pie-shaped wedges. Sprinkle with nuts and raisins. Roll each wedge from the outside in to form crescents. Then roll again in sugar. Continue same process with rest of dough. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees F. for 15-20 minutes (depending on oven) or until done.
Makes 40 rolls.
Rugelach (sour cream version, no yeast)
from
Kukla, same post as above
This is a full proof recipe from the Old Country, which is the best for all kind of sweet and savory pies, strudels tarts and Rugelach. I always use for Rugelach a very easy to make and especially to rollout pastry dough:
2 1/2 to 3 cups of AP flour (spoon and level method)
200 gram (7 ounces) cold unsalted butter or good quality margarine cut in small cubes
2 egg yolks
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
200 gram (7 ounces) cold sour cream
Start with 2 1/2 cups flour; add butter, yolks, salt and sugar.
Using just a butter knife, chop all together until it looks like coarse meal; then add sour cream and gather into a ball. If you feel that more flour is needed, add it little by little but make sure the dough is still soft; the dough will firm up in the refrigerator. Chill not less then 2 hours or overnight.
