Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Rugelach
I was hoping to give this rugelach recipe from Ruby Glen an unqualified thumbs-up, but I can’t. It tweaks me when I discover that the baking time is 2 to 3 times what the recipe claims it is, and I hate having to figure out how to roll out the damned dough without it sticking to the rolling pin.
Fortunately for you, I’m here to perfect the recipe.
Those of you who boggle at bagels may not be familiar with rugelach. They are a horn-shaped pastry made from a cream cheese, butter, and flour dough. You can fill them with fruit, nuts, chocolate, you name it. They’re delicious and easy to make (or rather, they should be easy to make).
There are two important bits missing from the Ruby Glen recipe:
1. I had to bake mine 45 minutes to an hour before they were golden brown. The recipe calls for 16 to 19 minutes. Grrr.
2. Even a well chilled dough is sticky beyond belief. I sprayed two large squares of parchment paper with non-stick cooking oil spray, and I rolled out my dough between the squares. I did this on a marble pastry board, so the dough stayed cold and remained pliant.
I rolled out another ball of dough between ungreased layers of parchment, but this flopped miserably. The dough stuck to the paper. Only by freezing the paper/dough sandwich could I peel off the paper, and then my dough was too hard to roll. I made it work, but oh, what a mess.
My filling: I followed Ruby Glen’s recipe (using pecans), and I added a quarter cup of milk chocolate chips before grinding the whole thing in a blender.
Rugelach: yum.
D.
Grrr, I just got back from the supermarket and don’t have enough cream cheese! Darn shame as these sound super and today is baking day!
But I’ll keep the link and let you know how my kitchen looks after I’ce tried them in the new year :o)
Hmmm. Sounds yummy. [Turning recipe over to husband because he’s the family chef.]
Mom’s got the cookies market cornered every Christmas (she makes 1200-1500), so I just wait for the delivery of anise cookies, butter cookies, and assorted tempting delights in all holiday shapes.
A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips, and so on.