Easy Rugalach - T&T

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*amy*

Washing Up
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Jun 18, 2007
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Rugalach is a rolled filled cookie I use to help my Hungarian grandma make when I was growing up. She made the dough from scratch. Since I didn't write down her recipe, I came up with a quick and easy version. There are no amounts - just go by feel.

Refrigerated crescent roll dough
chopped walnuts
sugar
cinnamon
raisins

Crack open the pkg of dough & lay out on wooden cutting board. Sprinkle the dough with a mixture of cinnamon & sugar. Sprinkle the dough (on the wide end) with chopped walnuts and raisins. Separate the dough (triangles) & roll up frrom widest end to the narrowest end (point of the triangle). Don't over fill. Sprinkle the top w more cinnamon. Bake according to pkg directions. Mine came out a little hard - maybe I cooked too long or should have used an eggwash.

Another option/filling I like - Chocolate chips (in place of the raisins) & chopped walnuts.

I've seen some fillings made with apricot or strawberry jam? Have fun with it & use your imagination for fillings you might like.

Note: If you want a bigger cookie similar to a croissant shape, pinch the perforations of the dough together (doubling the size) & increase the filling.
 
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but there's no yeast in MY Rugulach dough, and it's sweet, to boot. Your recipe sounds more like a cinnamon roll, not Rugulach. :)
 
but there's no yeast in MY Rugulach dough, and it's sweet, to boot. Your recipe sounds more like a cinnamon roll, not Rugulach. :)

Hi ChefJune. Would love it if you would share your recipe. And, wanted to ask - some people say cream cheese must be part of the dough. What's your take/input? Don't recall my grandma using it - not sure. TIA.:)

ETA: Mine is a quick and ez version - not the authentic (is there one?) recipe.
 
Well, Amy, I just looked up my recipe, and there is no sugar in it, but there also is no yeast, and yes, I use cream cheese. A little grated orange rind lifts the flavor wonderfully.

RUGULACH

makes about 36

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups sifted all purpose flour


1. In a large bowl of electric mixer, cream butter and cheese until completely blended and smooth. Beat in salt, and on low speed, add flour. When the dough is smooth, flour hands and form dough into a short fat roll. Cut roll in three (3) equal pieces. Form each piece into a round about 12 inches in diameter. Cut roll into 3 equal pieces and form each piece into a round ball, flatten to a disc and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F., and cover cookie sheets with heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down.

2. Roll each piece of dough to a 12-inch-diameter round. Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter to brush over the rounds. Spread with preserves or conserves of your choice and sprinkle them with chopped nuts. Or, you can add cinnamon and sugar to the nuts, and sprinkle them evenly over the rounds. Cut each circle in 12 wedges, like a pie, and roll up into crescents. [You can also roll the dough out into a long rectangle and roll it up and slice into about 1 1/4-inch chunks.]

3. Brush with a glaze made of 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water.

4. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden, in the preheated oven.
 
On her Thanksgiving visit, my sister brought along a batch of Rugelach, which I remembered vaguely from childhood, but had almost forgotten. I have only one left, and I hesitate to eat it, because...well, all gone and so darned good.

She referred me to epicurious.com, specifically to Lora Brody's recipe, which she says (and she has a fair amount of experience with this pastry) is the best she has found. It is a fair amount of work, but the results (I am a witness) are wonderful. Authentic? I can't say, but it sure seems like haimish to me ;)!
 
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Well, Amy, I just looked up my recipe, and there is no sugar in it, but there also is no yeast, and yes, I use cream cheese. A little grated orange rind lifts the flavor wonderfully.


RUGULACH


makes about 36

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups sifted all purpose flour


1. In a large bowl of electric mixer, cream butter and cheese until completely blended and smooth. Beat in salt, and on low speed, add flour. When the dough is smooth, flour hands and form dough into a short fat roll. Cut roll in three (3) equal pieces. Form each piece into a round about 12 inches in diameter. Cut roll into 3 equal pieces and form each piece into a round ball, flatten to a disc and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F., and cover cookie sheets with heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down.

2. Roll each piece of dough to a 12-inch-diameter round. Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter to brush over the rounds. Spread with preserves or conserves of your choice and sprinkle them with chopped nuts. Or, you can add cinnamon and sugar to the nuts, and sprinkle them evenly over the rounds. Cut each circle in 12 wedges, like a pie, and roll up into crescents. [You can also roll the dough out into a long rectangle and roll it up and slice into about 1 1/4-inch chunks.]

3. Brush with a glaze made of 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water.

4. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden, in the preheated oven.

YUM! Thanks ChefJune. The orange zest sounds delish. Copied & saved. Thank you. :)

Have you tried a filling of chocolate & nuts? It's to die for. Careful when the chocolate is hot though.
 
On her Thanksgiving visit, my sister brought along a batch of Rugelach, which I remembered vaguely from childhood, but had almost forgotten. I have only one left, and I hesitate to eat it, because...well, all gone and so darned good.

She referred me to epicurious.com, specifically to Lara Brody's recipe, which she says (and she has a fair amount of experience with this pastry) is the best she has found. It is a fair amount of work, but the results (I am a witness) are wonderful. Authentic? I can't say, but it sure seems like haimish to me ;)!

Thank you robgrave. Will go check it out. They are delish; and remember it took the better part of a day to make when I helped (more watched, lol), grandma make them.
 
YUM! Thanks ChefJune. The orange zest sounds delish. Copied & saved. Thank you. :)

Have you tried a filling of chocolate & nuts? It's to die for. Careful when the chocolate is hot though.
I've eaten the chocolate ones, but I don't make those because I like the fruit ones best... :)
 
I've eaten the chocolate ones, but I don't make those because I like the fruit ones best... :)

It's all good. ;) So now I'm thinking of a few different combos... Like your orange zest idea - maybe semi-sweet chocolate chips, orange zest, & nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts).

Or, if you like the fruit fillings (I do too) - how about cranberries, and nuts (& cream cheese).

I'm hungry for rugalach now. :LOL:
 
There is this bakery in Baltimore, they make absolutely the best rogalach ever. Even better than my grandmas, for sure better than my moms, and they aere dairy free, yum. Unfortunately they do not ship, otherwise I'd spend most of my money there.
 
There is this bakery in Baltimore, they make absolutely the best rogalach ever. Even better than my grandmas, for sure better than my moms, and they aere dairy free, yum. Unfortunately they do not ship, otherwise I'd spend most of my money there.

Charlie, is dairy forbidden in your home? Just curious. My grandma kept two sets of dishes - one for meat & one for dairy.

Going a little off topic re ordering/shipping food - found a place for nyc knishes that will ship. While I have not tried them, here's a link:

NewYorkFirst.com: Yonah Schimmel Knishes
 
I've corrected my above post (#5) for the sake of the name (it is Lora, not Lara Brody).

While I'm at it, though, I put in my vote for the apricot preserves, raisins and nuts filling. There is something about the tang of apricot that seems to make this pastry special ( and Haimish!) Then again, I am a chocolate lover, so, maybe sometime I'll give that a try...
 
Amy, to answer your question, I am in the same lines as was your grandma. Dairy is fine, but since you can't have it after meat, why bother. I am very much a carnivorous so I eat a lot of meat, which means I would rarely have an opportunity to it those rogalach. Anything that is vegetarian so to speak could be eaten at any time. So I try to make most of deserts Parve. But I do love dairy stuff.
 
ahhhh guys....rugelah have to be made with cream cheese and butter.....and knishes...yum....I think it's Joan Nathan that has a good recipe for rugelah

Ella dear, where do you think they were getting cream cheese in Russia, 100 years or so ago? No cream cheese, neah.
 
For those who prefer to use cream cheese, I gather one major annoyance with Rugelach is working with the sticky dough that results. I came across this tip during a web search; when I get around to trying my novice hands at making Rugelach, I think I'll get ahold of a pack of gallon-size Ziploc bags, and try it this way:
'Here is the world's best trick for handling rugelach dough, from Gloria Kaufer Greene's "New Jewish Holiday Cookbook":

After mixing the dough, separate it into 3-4 sections, and put each in a plastic Ziploc bag. Roll the dough into a circle while it's in the bag. (I divided a batch into four portions, and rolled each into a 9-inch circle.)

Then, put the rolled-out, bagged dough into the refrigerator and chill for an hour or more.

Remove dough from fridge, and, using scissors, cut the bag open on all four sides and peel the plastic away from the dough disc. Voila! You have avoided struggling with messy, sticky dough, and have perfect circles ready to fill.

Now, sprinkle the filling over each circle; slice into 8-12 sections using pizza cutter; roll up each section the same way that you would roll a crescent roll, from the outer edge in.

I've found this technique makes rugelach-making sooooo much easier, no matter which recipe you're using.' [ Copied from community.cookinglight.com, Bold Italics mine]
Comments, all you pastry experts?
 
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