Ma Vie, Aujourd’hui!

Rugelach!

December 20, 2008

Posted in: Marfa, TX, The Recipes

Jewish Luuuuurve Cookies! Most de-lish! They aren’t easy, per say, but I’ve laid out very detailed instructions to facilitate the process (which is why this recipe resembles a novel. Fear not it’s length; it’s well intentioned!) So, tie on a babushka headcover; pretend you just left the Schtetl; contemplate rhinoplasty; whip these up (in a merrily laborious sort of way;) envision your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren communing over these scrumptious Semitic snacks, and let your nagging maternal urges run rampant!

Ingredients, for about 32 cookies:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 + 1/2 cup apricot preserves or raspberry jam ( I used a mixture of half raspberry and half blueberry. Fantasmic!)
• 3/4 cup loosely packed golden raisins, chopped
• 1 cup Thompson (regular) raisins, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups walnuts (1/4 lb), finely chopped
• Melted butter, for brushing cookies

Procedure:

For Dough:

1. Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Beat together butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. THERE IS NO SUGAR IN THE DOUGH.
4. Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, then flatten, in wrap, into a 7- by 5-inch rectangle. MEASURE!!! Use a measuring tape, seriously. This is the difference between success and failure, between ease and toil. Chill until firm, 8 to 24 hours.

Preparing Dough:

1. Check the dough. It should be firm but not solid, sort of barely pliable. If it is firmer than this, remove from the fridge for quelque minutes. Careful not to let it become soft, though.
2. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of a 1- to 1 1/2-inch-deep large shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
3. Cut dough into 4 equal strips (in half once, and then each half in half, for all of you who need help out there.)
4. Chill 3 pieces, wrapped in plastic wrap, and roll out remaining piece into a 12- by 8-inch rectangle on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin. I eventually figured out that the best way to do this is to sprinkle flour on your work surface and to apply a generous amount of flour directly onto the dough. Don’t work it in, just coat. Then, use the rolling pin to bang the dough a few time lengthwise, and then a few width-wise. This flattens the dough into the desired shape without disturbing its integrity unnecessarily. Then, roll out the dough width-wise only. It will stretch out lengthwise as a byproduct of this action. If you actively roll it lengthwise, it will quickly become too long without becoming wide. Again here, measure as you go along; it’s nigh impossible to shrink the dough back in any direction if you overextend it
5. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill while rolling out the remaining dough in the same manner. Transfer each rectangle to the fridge immediately, stacking them as you go, separated by saran wrap or parchment if you ant to air on the side of caution. I just lay those babies directly on one another, though!

Assembly:

1. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.
2. Arrange 1 dough rectangle on work surface with a long side nearest you. Spread 1/4 plus 1/8 cup cup preserves evenly over dough with offset spatula, to be fancy, or the back of a spoon. I like spoon/fingers combo best.
3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup plus rounded T mixed raisins and a rounded 1/4 cup walnuts over jam, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar. Disperse the goodies evenly over the dough: don’t try to be clever and only fill the middle line. Also, yes, it looks like an abominable amount of sugar as you’re sprinkling it, but use it all.
4. Roll dough tightly into a log (I folded it twice.)
5. Place, seam side down, in lined baking pan, then pinch ends closed and tuck underneath. This step is imperative. Otherwise, the deliciousness will ooze out all over the baking sheet, and your cookies shall be sadly barren. What would Bubbe say to that?
6. Make 3 more logs in same manner and arrange 1 inch apart in pan.
7. Brush logs with melted butter and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of remaining granulated sugar. With a large. sharp knife, make 3/4-inch-deep cuts crosswise in dough (not all the way through) at 1-inch intervals. (If dough is too soft to cut, chill until firmer, 20 to 30 minutes.)
8. Bake 25 minutes. Flip pan around, and bake another 25, or until golden.
9. Cool to warm in pan on a rack, about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board and slice cookies all the way through. Indulge!

Random Posts:

• Food and Sex, and Des Eggs
• Sautéed Chanterelles with
  Shallots, Thyme, and Hazelnuts
• Ratatouille Recipe
• Chestnut and Armagnac Souffle
  with Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
• Ce Qui C’est Passé In Portland