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Sweet Sound Bites: Rugelach

12/28/2015

2 Comments

 
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Got a sweet tooth? Testing a dessert recipe and sampling a couple of sweet new tunes - that’s what the Sweet Sound Bites feature is all about. 
 
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.

Please enjoy today’s Sweet Sound Bites playlist featuring Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers + Nadia Reid. Click the names to learn more about the artists.


Printable Recipe- Ina Garten's Rugelach with Apricot & Raspberry Fillings
File Size: 478 kb
File Type: pdf
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​​Ina Garten’s Rugelach with Apricot and Raspberry Filling
Source: Ina Garten via Food Network

Ingredients:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2-pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 9 tablespoons
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup raisins
  • 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup apricot preserves, pureed in a food processor
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
 
Directions:
  • Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light.
  • Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. Mix to blend.
  • 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 circle into 12 equal wedges—cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds.
  • Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge.
  • Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet 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 for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
  • Remove to a wire rack and let cool. 
2 Comments
Davida Kristy
12/29/2015 12:10:15 am

Do you make a batch of apricot, and then a batch of raspberry? There's no raspberry in the ingredient list. I would use chopped, half-cooked dried apricots with the apricot jam. I would microwave the bits in apple juice.

Reply
Ann B Johnson
12/29/2015 09:03:21 am

Apricot preserves appear in the ingredient list, and yes, you can swap that out for another flavor of jam such as raspberry. The can of raspberry filling that Ilise used is shown in the ingredients photo. That's a good idea about including minced fruit with the jam, although you would need to chop it into very small pieces so that the cookies will still roll up smoothly. Thanks for the suggestion!

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