One of the most highly anticipated desserts on each year’s holiday open house sweets table is Ilise’s homemade rugelach. It is certainly the most highly anticipated treat in my kitchen; I’m known to hover around while she bakes, snatching up hot-hot-hot morsels of caramelized filling that oozes from the traditional Jewish pastries. Although they are not fried, rugelach are frequently served at Hanukkah celebrations.
This particular rugelach recipe is very fine indeed coming, as it does, from Ina Garten who is no slouch in the baking-of-rich-goodies category. However happy cooking site adjectives such as “one pan,” “just three ingredients,” or “fast and easy” will never be associated with this dessert. There are LOTS of steps including a few interludes of “chill for an hour or more.”
Be sure to read ahead before embarking on this culinary adventure, but then embark with gusto. Your first bite of the finished pastry – tender, golden brown, caramelized cinnamon sugar adding sweet, chewy crunch – screams out loud: This is worth it.
Please continue reading for photos, the recipe and a sample of new-to-me music in today’s Sweet Bites Playlist -- bringing the sounds are Nicki Bluhm + Nadia Reid. I hope you like them as much as I do.