Rugelach

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   This is an elegant cookie from the Jewish Cuisine, usually made during the time of Hanukkah. When my daughter saw the picture of this in the cook book I lent from the library, she asked me whether I could make it for her. How could I say no when I wanted to try them myself.  I was super glad it came out looking pretty as I expected.  Enjoy your weekend!



Ingredients:

Cream cheese- 8 ounce
Butter- 1 cup
Flour- 2 cups
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Salt- 1/4 tsp

for filling:

Semisweet chocolate squares- one 4 ounce square
Walnuts- 1 1/4 cup
Strawberry/Raspberry jam- 1/2 cup
Brown sugar- 1/4 cup
Cinnamon- 1 tsp



Method:

1.Beat the cream cheese and butter till they become smooth.Throw in the sugar and salt and mix well.
2.Add the flour and beat to mix well. Knead using your hands to make a soft and smooth dough.
3.Make 4 equal balls out of this and keep them covered in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
4.Make the filling ,meanwhile. Throw in the chopped chocolate and walnut into the blender and blend it till they have mixed well, but the nut is only coarsely ground.
5.Mix this and the jam, sugar and cinnamon and keep aside.
6.Preheat the oven at 375 degree F.
7.Take out the dough from the fridge and roll each of the dough ball into ~9 inch rounds using a rolling pin.
8.Spread 1/4th of the filling evenly on it.
9.Cut each round into 4 equal parts and then each 1/4th to 3 equal parts.This will give 12 equal pieces.
10.Now starting from the wide edge roll up each cookie and place them with the end tucked to the bottom.
11.Chill it for 20 minutes before baking.
12.Keep in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or till they start changing to a light brown color.
13.remove to a wire rack and let cool completely before storing in a airtight container.



Notes:

1.The filling is up to your imagination. You could replace the walnut with toasted pecan or almond.
2.Also you could avoid adding chocolate if you wish.
3.Chilling the rolled up cookies before baking helps to prevent them from spreading.
4.I baked them in two batches, using up two balls of dough each time.
5.You could give the cookies an eggwash, that will give a shiny brown color to the cookies. I didn't do it, since my family doesn't like the egg smell on their cookies :-)
6.If you are doing an egg wash, beat an egg with a tablespoon of water and brush it over the cookies before baking.
7.The original recipe calls for Kosher salt an inevitable ingredient of Jewish cooking.

Recipe adapted from: Baking at home, CIA

Contributor: Namitha