rugelach

easy! also, possibly the best things I've ever baked.

cream cheese dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese or neufchatel, chilled, cubed
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled, cubed
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon cold water

place flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the "s" blade and pulse briefly to combine. scatter cream cheese and butter cubes over the top, then pulse 12-15 times, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. add egg yolk and cold water, then run food processor continuously until dough forms large curds. tip out onto a clean surface and knead briefly, then shape into disks (I like to make three different fillings, so I make three discs), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. the dough will keep three-four days in the refrigerator, and up to three months if frozen.

fillings

each of these filling recipes makes enough to fill the entire recipe of dough above -- if you want to make more than one filling, decrease the amount of ingredients in each filling accordingly.

filling 1: Israeli chocolate

• 1.5 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch kosher salt

pulse/process all ingredients in a food processor until chocolate is in fine crumbs.

filling 2: apricot-nut

• 1 cup apricot jam
• 1/4 cup dried apricots (use the soft, sulphured variety), cut into bits
• 1/2 cup toasted nuts (walnuts, pecans or almonds), finely chopped
• pinch kosher salt

combine all ingredients.

filling 3: cherry

• 1 cup dried sour cherries
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch kosher salt

place all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes, until fruit is hydrated and mixture is thickened. cool to room temperature (or chill in refrigerator) before using.

assembly & baking

• powdered sugar to roll out dough
• melted butter (it will take 4-6 tablespoons total to fill all the rugelach)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon cold water

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. take a disc of dough out of the fridge (1/3 of the total dough, formed into a disk and chilled thoroughly). sprinkle large cutting board or clean countertop with powdered sugar, flip the disc of dough on it a couple of times to ensure it's evenly covered with the sugar, and roll out with a rolling pin into a circle, adding powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking. once the dough is about 1/8-inch thick, spread the surface liberally with melted butter, than cover with your filling of choice. cut the circle into 4 wedges, then cut each wedge into 4 long, thin triangles. starting at the wide edge of each wedge, roll towards the center up to the point. as you roll the crescents, place each one, point down, on a buttered cookie sheet/jelly roll pan (covered with buttered parchment if you have it -- otherwise, plan to soak the pan to clean it). whisk the egg yolk, sugar and water together to make a glaze, and brush/dab this mixture evenly over all the exposed surfaces of each crescent. bake the rugelach for 20-28 minutes, until the cream cheese dough is medium-golden brown, puffed a bit and cooked all the way through. if you used parchment paper, pull the paper off the cookie sheet directly onto a rack to cool, then peel off the parchment. if you baked them directly on a buttered sheet/pan, remove them to a plate while still warm and flexible.

snickerdoodles

Makes 12-16 cookies

• 1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder*, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1-1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• optional: 2 tablespoons whole milk, if needed
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2-1/2 - 3 tablespoons cinnamon

preheat oven to 350 ˚F, and butter a half-sheet baking pan** or cookie sheet. cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until fluffy. add the egg and vanilla, and whisk until completely smooth and incorporated. mix the flour, salt, nutmeg and (sifted!*) baking powder in a small bowl, and add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture. mix together just until it comes together. if it seems too dry and crumbly, add a 2 tablespoons of whole milk.

mix 1/3 cup sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl***. scoop out the dough (I use a small ice cream scoop to get consistent cookies), roll them into balls between your palms. you're aiming for spheres that are approximately 1-1/2 inches in diameter. as you finish rolling each cookie, lightly drop it into the cinnamon sugar. pick up the bowl and swirl it around to coat the cookie dough completely, then place on the prepared baking sheet. give them about 3/4" clearance so they have some room to spread a little (they won't spread very much). they may all fit on your sheet pan or cookie sheet, but if that would crowd them, then bake them in two batches. pop the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 14 - 16 minutes; until golden brown. cool them on a baking rack.

*baker's note: regarding baking powder and sifting: I generally don't sift flour these days for anything other than very fine and/or delicate pastries. almost every kind flour I find at the grocery these days works well without sifting (though I have a very strong preference for King Arthur flour) (<-- BTW, that link is purely for reference, the price is ridonkulous). everything I bake with it comes out well. baking powder and baking soda are another story. I've found that I absolutely need to sift baking powder and/or baking soda before measuring and using, because they're hygroscopic (they attract moisture from the air), which results in hard little clumps that don't break up properly when you mix your dough or batter (or whatever else you're baking). so for best results, sift your baking powder and/or baking soda in a sifter, push it through a small sieve or just thoroughly pulverize it with the back of a spoon before using. re-measure after you sift.

**baker's note II: in case you're looking, I found a nice steel half sheet pan here; I don't like aluminum pans.

***baker's note III: you'll probably have a little leftover cinnamon sugar when you're done. I trust you know what to do with it (hint: buttered toast! mmmm). if that doesn't sit well with you, use a little less of the sugar and the cinnamon, but: you may run out. sometimes the little fellows pick up more cinnamon sugar than others!