Delicious to eat and fun to make, rugelach (pronounced rug-a-lah) are miniature crescent-rolled pastries posing as cookies. They’re made by rolling a triangle of dough around a sweet filling of fruit, nuts, chocolate or pretty much anything your heart desires.
Ingredients:
Dough:
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose einkorn flour, plus more for dusting (Jovial)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter, cold
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) sourdough starter, optional
- ½ cup (113 g) sour cream (preferred) or cream cheese
- Egg wash (1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon of water)
Filling:
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup currants
- 1 apple, peeled and cut in small dices
- Juice and zest of one orange
- ½ cup (55 g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- ½ cup cherry or strawberry jelly
Directions:
- Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl.
- With a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture until sandy. If you are adding sourdough starter, work the starter into the dough with the butter.
- Add the sour cream or cream cheese and squeeze the dough in your hands until it comes together.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface about 10 times until smooth.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and form discs.
- Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. If you are using sourdough starter, place the dough in the refrigerator for 6 to 12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
- To make the filling, add all ingredients except jelly to a medium saucepan.
- Cook the filling on medium-low for 5 minutes, then turn down to low and cook for 10 minutes more.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the jelly.
- Let cool for 15 minutes or refrigerate along with the dough for up to one day.
- Remove a piece of dough from the refrigerator and let it soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough to a 20×7-inch rectangle.
- Spread the filling on top of the dough all the way to the edges.
- Roll the dough tightly widthwise.
- Cut a 1-inch piece off of each end, then cut the dough into twelve 1½ pieces.
- Place the cookies on the baking sheet spread 1-inch apart, with the seam down.
- Brush the cookies with the egg wash.
- Bake for 28 to 30 minutes until golden brown.
- Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Recipe courtesy of Jovial Foods.
