8. Refrigerate rugelach on the baking sheet, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare remaining batches.

9. Bake the first tray of rugelach until golden-brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on the sheet, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack. Bake the remaining cookies.

Rugelach will keep in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a week.

Ideas for rugelach filling:

--Nut filling: In a food processor, grind 1 cup walnuts and 1 cup pecans until they break into tiny crumbs, 30 to 40 pulses. (Be careful of over-processing and making nut-butter.) Combine the ground nuts in a bowl with 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) melted butter, 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

--Fruit and jam filling: Warm 1/4 cup marmalade, apricot jam or raspberry jam in the microwave until it liquefies. Stir in the 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside to cool until no longer steaming, still liquid. Pulse 2 cups (roughly 10 ounces) dried fruit, such as apricots, cranberries, cherries or currants, in a food processor until it breaks down into tiny pieces. To assemble, spread the jam onto the rugelach dough; sprinkle the dried fruit on top.

--Peanut butter and chocolate filling: Warm 1/2 cup peanut butter in a microwave until it liquefies. Spread over the rugelach dough; sprinkle with 1 cup miniature chocolate chips.

Additional Notes:

--Freezing rugelach: The disks of dough can be frozen for up to three months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using. The shaped cookies can also be frozen for up to three months. Arrange cookies on a baking sheet, making sure they do not touch, and freeze until solid. Transfer to a freezer container for long term storage. Cookies can be baked straight from the freezer and may need an extra few minutes to bake.

--Making rugelach by hand: If you don't have a food processor, just cut the cream cheese and the butter into the flour mixture using your finger tips or a pastry cutter, just as you would for pie crust. Sprinkle the yolk mixture over the top and fluff the dough with your fingers until it feels heavy and can hold together when pressed into a ball. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as instructed.

--Halving this recipe: Nix the egg yolk and cut the rest of the ingredients in half.

(Emma Christensen is recipe editor at TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to kitchn@apartmenttherapy.com.)