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Rugelach – Your New Go-To Holiday Cookie

Course: Dessert
Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

  • Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's recipe in Baking Chez Moi

Quick Raspberry Jam with Chocolate Liqueur

  • 4 cups fresh Driscoll's raspberries
  • 3 cups coconut sugar
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoon Crème de Cocoa chocolate liqueur

Rugelach Dough

  • 4 oz cold cream cheese
  • 4 oz cold unsalted butter
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup canned pumpkin

Rugelach Filling

  • 4 oz semisweet chocolate
  • ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • ¼ cup dried currants
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
  • ¼ cup Raspberry Jam with Chocolate Liqueur
  • 1 large egg
  • Splash of water
  • 1 tablespoon turbinado coarse sugar

Instructions

Quick Raspberry Jam

  • Spill the raspberries into a large pot you'll use for cooking up the jam. Mash them until they're completely broken up, using a potato masher. Stir in the sugar and place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Pour in the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, and maintain a steady boil for 20 minutes. The jam should be thickened. Stir in the chocolate liqueur. The jam will continue to thicken as it cools.

Rugelach Dough

  • Cut the cream cheese and butter each into 4 chunks. Put the flour, allspice, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse a few times and add the cream cheese, butter, and pumpkin. Process until the dough forms large curds, scraping down the bowl as needed. Do not continue to process the dough until it forms a ball.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently gather into a ball using your fingers. Divide in half and shape each half into a square. Wrap in plastic or wax paper and chill for at least 2 hours. (The dough can also be refrigerated up to 1 day, or frozen for up to 2 months.)
  • Lay down a sheet of parchment paper, and lightly flour. Place 1 piece of dough on the parchment paper, lightly flour, and roll into a square that's about 12 inches on one side. Don't worry if it's not exactly the right size or if it's more rectangular than square. Lift and turn and flip the dough frequently, reflouring the parchment paper with a dusting of flour as needed. Do not be tempted to place another piece of parchment paper over the dough and roll it between the sheets of parchment. The cream cheese makes this an easy dough to work with. I place the sheet of parchment paper on the bottom to make the rolling process easy. You'll end up with a very thin dough. If the dough becomes sticky, just slide it into the refrigerator to chill a bit while you roll out the other piece of dough.
  • Cut one square in half to form 2 rectangles roughly 12" X 6". Place each rectangle on it's own sheet of parchment paper.
  • Chill in the refrigerator while you make the Rugelach Filling.

Rugelach Filling

  • Using a sharp, dry knife, slice the chocolate into small shards and shavings. Place in a bowl and stir in the coconut, currants, and orange zest.

Rolling the Cookies

  • Working with one piece of dough at a time, smear each dough rectangle with 1 tablespoon of Raspberry Jam with Chocolate Liqueur, leaving a ½" border all around the edges of the dough.
  • Sprinkle ¼ of the Rugelach Filling over each rectangle, and gently pat down.
  • Starting with the ragged, long side of each rectangle, gentle tuck it over to begin the roll. Pull the parchment paper up and away from you over the dough to force the dough into a roll. If the dough roll appears to be thicker in the middle than the edges, gently smooth it out over the parchment paper. Don't try to do this directly on the dough, as you could tear it. Continue to roll until the straight edge of the dough is on the bottom of the roll.
  • Slide into the freezer with the parchment paper while you form the remaining rolls of dough. (The rolls can stay frozen for up to 2 months.)
  • Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • Place a roll on a working surface and unfurl the parchment paper. Using a sharp, dry knife, gently cut each roll into 1" slices. Transfer the dough slices to a baking sheet, and arrange the slices seam side down. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
  • Mix together the egg and water, and beat well. Brush on the tops of the slices, and sprinkle with the sugar.
  • Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and from back to front at the midway point, or until the cookies are golden brown. It's better to over bake slightly than under bake to ensure the dough in the cookie centers is baked. Some chocolate will ooze out, along with the occasional dried currant. It's unavoidable.
  • Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to room temperature.