Rugelach is an irresistible baked treat which is both delicious and versatile. So, is it a pastry or a cookie? Rugelach’s unique buttery, tender dough wrapped around any variety of tasty fillings seems to straddle the line.
Rugelach was invented around the same time as the croissant, in 1683 and has Jewish (Polish) origins. The word rugelach means ‘little twists’.
Traditionally, rugelach was made with yeast dough, but the pastry has evolved and is now made with cream cheese which is both quicker and easier to make. The cream cheese dough was first used by North American bakers in the 1940’s, and now forms the staple of the modern rugelach we know today.
Many folks don’t associate the crescent-shaped cookies with Christmas but rather consider rugelach a year-round treat. That being said, I see no reason not to make some summer rhubarb rugelach.
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- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup nuts, chopped
- 1/4 cup sugar
Ingredients
Rugelach
Nut Filling
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- In a cup combine water, sugar & yeast. Allow to sit until frothy.
- In a large bowl, combine butter & flour until resembles small peas. Add eggs & the yeast mixture to the bowl. Knead the dough until smooth & soft then divide into thirds.
- In a small bowl, combine nut filling ingredients. Spread 1/4 cup of the nut filling on a work surface & place 1/3 of the dough on top of it. Roll dough into a circle the size of a small pizza. Spread 1/4-1/2 cup of the rhubarb compote on top of the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Cut the dough into 12 pieces like you would cut a pizza & roll each piece from the outside in. Place each rugelach on a parchment lined baking sheet with the point face down. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly browned.
- Due to a nut allergy problem, I had to omit the nut filling for our rugelach.