Rugelach - Classic Recipe

By Janet-2

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 package (8 ounces) cold cream cheese, cubed
• 2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 batch filling (see ideas below)
• Powdered sugar

Details

Adapted from thekitchn.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Combine the flour and salt. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to mix.

2. Mix in the cream cheese and butter. Scatter the cubes of cream cheese and butter over the flour. Pulse 10 to 12 times until coarse crumbs form.

3. Mix in the yolk and vanilla. Whisk together the vanilla and yolk in a bowl, and the pour them over the butter-flour mixture. Run the processor continuously until the dough starts to clump together and form large curdlike pieces.

4. Refrigerate the dough. Turn the dough out onto the counter and gather the pieces into a ball. Divide into four portions and flatten each into 1-inch thick disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate the dough at least 2 hours or up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months (thaw in the refrigerator before using).

→ When ready to bake the rugelach, preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare your fillings.

5. Roll out the dough. Sprinkle your work surface generously with powdered sugar. Take one disk of dough from the refrigerator and let it warm on the counter for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle the surface of the dough and the rolling pin with more powdered sugar. Roll the dough from the center out into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Don't worry if a few cracks form near the edges. Use more powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking.

6. Spread with filling. Spread the filling in a thin layer evenly over the surface of the dough. Make sure it goes right up to the edge of the dough.

7. Slice and roll the cookies. Slice the dough into 16 wedges, like a pizza, using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Roll up each wedge, beginning at the wide outer edge and moving inward. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure the tip is tucked underneath.

Or for rugelach pinwheels - roll out dough to a rectangle. Spread filling all over the dough. Roll the dough till you get 1 big roll. Slice 1-2" thick pinwheel (depending on how big you want the pinwheel).

8. Chill the cookies. Refrigerate cookies on the baking sheet, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare remaining batches.

9. Bake the cookies. Bake the first tray of cookies until golden-brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on the sheet, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack. Bake the remaining cookies.

Cookies will keep in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a week.