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The Kitchn: How to bake rugelach

By Emma Christensen on

TheKitchn.com

There is no resisting rugelach, no matter how nubbly or imperfectly rolled. They're buttery, flaky, and just the right amount of sweet. You can fill them with anything from ground nuts and honey to peanut butter and chocolate -- the only real constant is using cream cheese to make a super-tender dough. Here's how you can make them at home.

I am a student of the Dorie Greenspan School of Rugelach. This means that I make teh dough in a food processor rather than with a mixer or by hand. This makes an incredibly tender dough where the cream cheese and butter are cut into the flour rather than absorbed by it. If you don't have a food processor, though, no worries: take a look at the instructions for making rugelach by hand at the end of the recipe.

I like adding an egg yolk to my dough. It's not strictly necessary, but I like it for the extra richness and a guaranteed golden color in the oven. This pastry is about celebration, after all, so now is not the time to shy away from a decadent cookie.

Also in line with the Dorie Greenspan School, I prefer rugelach rolled individually into crescents rather than rolling the dough around the filling and then slicing them into pinwheels. This technique is a bit more labor-intensive, but I find the crescent shape to have a more satisfying bite and pleasing appearance.

I love making several different fillings for the ruglach and using a different one with each batch. I always make a classic honey-walnut filling, and chocolate is another favorite. If I have a really good summer jam in the cupboard, I'll fill a batch with a few spoonfuls straight from the jar. Rugelach can be made with an amazing array of fillings, so let your imagination go wild.

 

Rugelach

Makes 64 pieces.

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

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