Rugalah Russian Tea Pastry Recipes

RUGELACH

Steps:

• Cut cold butter or margarine and cream cheese into bits. In food processor pulse flour, salt, butter or margarine, cream cheese and sour cream until crumbly.
• Shape crumbly mixture into four equal disks. Wrap each disk and chill 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• Combine sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, and finely chopped raisins (may substitute miniature chocolate chips for raisins).
• Roll each disk into a 9 inch round keeping other disks chilled until ready to roll them. Sprinkle round with sugar/nut mixture. Press lightly into dough. With chefs knife or pizza cutter, cut each round into 12 wedges. Roll wedges from wide to narrow, you will end up with point on outside of cookie. Place on ungreased baking sheets and chill rugelach 20 minutes before baking.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• After rugelach are chilled, bake them in the center rack of your oven 22 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on wire racks. Store in airtight containers...they freeze very well.
• Variations: Before putting the filling on the dough, use a pastry brush to layer apricot jam as well as brown sugar. Then add the recommended filling. You may also make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar and roll the rugelach in this prior to putting them on the cookie sheets.

RUGELACH

Steps:

• Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Remove from bowl, and divide into 3 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.
• Make the filling: In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats). On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Brush evenly with jelly. Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture and one-third of the chocolate chips. Using the rolling pin, gently roll over filling to press ingredients into dough.
• Cut the round into 16 equal-sized wedges. Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

CHOCOLATE RUGELACH

Steps:

• Combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Add eggs and the oil. Mix using a bread hook attachment.
• Add the water a little at a time until the dough is sticky but not wet. Mix for 5 minutes or until the dough pulls away from the sides. If the dough is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until you get the right consistency.
• Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rise until double in size.
• In a mixing bowl, combine coca, sugar, oil, and cinnamon to create the filling.
• Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll out half the dough into a horizontal rectangle on a well-floured work surface. You want the dough to be very thin, but not so thin that it rips when moved.
• Spread about 1/3 the filling over the dough. Then fold the dough over itself towards you. Spread another layer of filling. Cut the dough into triangles, creating a zigzag pattern. Do your best not to make them too wide or too narrow.
• Start from the widest part of each triangle and roll your way down to the tip. Place the rugelach on a parchment paper lined baking sheet about 1'' apart.
• Repeat these steps with the remainder of the dough and spread.
• Preheat the oven to 360°F or 180°C. Let the rugelach rise until the oven is ready. Generously brush with remaining egg.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Mix remaining sugar and water in a pot. Heat to create simple syrup. Spoon the syrup over the rugelach and sprinkle the sesame seeds.

RUGALAH(RUSSIAN TEA PASTRY)

Steps:

• Sift the flour and salt into a small bowl and set aside.
• Using electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and cream cheese together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Stop the mixer once or twice to scrape the bowl with a spatula.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended, about 20 seconds, stopping the mixer once to scrape the bowl.
• Shape the dough into 2 equal thick rectangles, wrap each one in plastic wrap, and freeze for 2 hours.
• Remove 1 dough rectangle from the freezer and roll it out between 2 pieces of plastic wrap into a rectangle about 9"x8". It may be necessary to refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes duriing the rolling process, because it will become a bit sticky. Once rolled, refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.While it is resting, remove the second rectangle from the freezer and roll it out the same way you did the first one.
• To fill the dough, unwrap one rectangle and place it on plastic wrap on a work surface. Spread half the preserves evenly over the rectangle, leaving uncovered a 1/2" strip along the length of one side.
• Mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar, nuts, and raisins over the preserves.
• Loosen the edge of the dough that is covered with jam with a knife or spatula and roll it toward the uncovered edge like a jelly roll, peeling off the plastic wrap as you roll. The seam should be on the underside. Wrap the roll in plastic and refrigerate it. Repeat the process with the other dough rectangle. Keep the filled rolls refrigerated for 2 hours.
• Fifteen minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375*F. Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper or lightly grease them with butter or veg. oil.
• For the glaze, lightly beat the egg with a fork. Use a pastry brush to apply the glaze to the outside of the roll. Using a thin, sharp knife, carefully cut the rolls into pieces about 1 1/4" long.
• Place the rugalah about 1" apart on the cookie sheets.
• Bake the rugalah until golden, about 25 minutes.(Some of the jam will ooze out and start to darken.) Use a spatula to remove the rugalah from the pan immediately and place them on a rack to cool. When they are cool, place them in an airtight container for a day before serving so that the taste and consistency have a chance to settle.
• Makes 30 pieces.

RUGELAH (RUSSIAN TEA PASTRIES)

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• 2. Combine the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Cut the butter and cream cheese into several pieces about 1" square. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture. When the butter and cream cheese are well distributed, mix in the sour cream and water and gather the dough into a ball.
• 3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• 4. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces; use one piece at a time and keep the remaining pieces wrapped and refrigerated until ready to use. On a lightly floured pastry board, roll each piece of dough into a 9" circle, a little more than 1/8" thick.
• 5. Place the desired filling on the circle of dough; cut the circle into 12 triangles.
• 6. Roll each triangle up from the wide end and place on a parchment covered baking sheet about 1" apart. When all the dough has been rolled and filled, bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the Rugelah are a golden brown.