On Saturday night I made Uzbek-style rice pilaf, but that’s another post. I was also going to make Rugelach but I was just so freaking exhausted that I decided to make them Sunday morning instead. There was no occasion or celebration, I just wanted to make them. It’s very odd, the way my brain works sometimes. I knew that I would end up dozens of Rugelach and didn’t even think about what I would do with all of it, I just made it. Well, less than 24 hours later, I probably have 5 or 6 left…and I made close to 40 (if not more). Who was the contributing factor to the Rugelach elimination? My husband of course! That man has no sweet tooth, or so he says. I don’t believe him anymore - and I’m glad that he liked them. Actually, he liked them very very very much.

I’m not a baker. Well I’m not a chef or a cook either. But I can sort of follow directions. Other than the cinnamon rolls that I sometimes make, these were my next attempt at baking. They may not be pretty but they sure were good. What I loved the most about them was that they weren’t too sweet. Hence - it’s very very easy to eat several (dozen) in one sitting.

Also, these were super easy to make. They’re extremely fattening (8oz of cream chease=1 container + 2 sticks of butter!) but, trust me, they’re worth it. I ended up using low-fat cream cheese and just short of 2 sticks of butter. You’ll need a mixer of some sort, unless you have arms of steel (which I certainly don’t).

I used Bonne Maman Apricot Preserves that Andy picked up at our local Jewel, sugar in the raw instead of regular sugar, and milk instead of egg wash. I actually looked at 2 different recipes and then combined them to form 1-much easier one. The two recipes I used are: Ina Garten’s Ruglelach Recipe and one from Epicurious. So the recipe below is a combination of two. Each recipe is different, so read through both and see which one works best for you. Ina used more ingredients in her, but her preparation/instructions were easier and quicker. So I mainly went off Epicurious’ ingredient list and Ina’s preparation/instructions.

(yes, the plate is on top of a car-seat box)

Rugelach
Makes about 44

Ingredients:

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 and the salt. 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 (I used milk). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.