The trick to great rugelach is making a flaky buttery rich pastry dough. If the dough gathers into a cohesive mass around the blade in the food processor work bowl, you have over-processed it. Make sure to stop processing at the point where the mixture is s…
What you'll need
Ingredients
Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Dough
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ pound unsalted butter (2 sticks), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8 ounces cream cheese, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons sour cream
Filling
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped
¾ cup currants
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped fine
2/3 cup apricot or raspberry preserves, optional (processed briefly in food processor to break up large chunks)
Egg Yolk -and- Milk Glaze
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar, or granulated sugar
The method
Directions
01
Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Dough
02
For the dough: Pulse flour, sugar, and salt to combine in food processor fitted with steel blade. Add butter and cream cheese pieces and sour cream; pulse until dough comes together in small, uneven pebbles the size of cottage cheese curds, about sixteen 1-second pulses. Turn mixture onto work surface, press into 9-inch-by-6-inch log, divide log into four equal portions, and press each into 4 1/2-by-3/4-inch disk. Place each disk between two sheets plastic wrap; roll out to form 8 1/2-inch circle. Stack dough circles on plate; freeze 30 minutes (or up to 1 month if stored in zipper-lock freezer bag).
03
Meanwhile, mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; mix currants, mini chips, and orange zest in another small bowl and set aside with other filling ingredients.
04
Working with one dough round, remove from freezer and spread with 2 tablespoons of preserves (if using), 1/4 cup mini chips/currant mixture, 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar, and 1/2 cup walnuts, in that order, over dough; pat down gently with fingers. Cut dough round into eight wedges. Roll each wedge into crescent shape and place at 2-inch intervals on parchment paper-lined heavy rimmed baking pans. Freeze crescents at least 15 minutes. (Frozen crescents, if well-wrapped, can be frozen in a zipper-lock bag up to 6 weeks.) Repeat with remaining dough rounds.
05
Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk egg yolks and milk in small bowl until smooth. Brush top and sides of frozen crescents with egg-milk mixture and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake crescents, turning baking pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time, until pale gold and slightly puffy, 21 to 23 minutes. Immediately sprinkle each cookie with scant teaspoon of remaining cinnamon sugar; carefully transfer hot, fragile cookies to cooling rack using thin-bladed spatula. (Can be stored in an airtight container up to 4 days.)
I’ve been making banana bread since I was a kid. My first recipe came from a local PTA cookbook, and over the years, I’ve tried many versions. For a long time, my go-to was a Martha Stewart recipe that added sour cream for extra richness. Then in 2018, King…
This charming six-inch carrot cake is ideal for small celebrations or intimate gatherings. Moist and full of classic carrot cake flavor, it's perfectly balanced by a rich, not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting. Whether you're serving two with leftovers, slici…
This is one of my favorite recipes from Test Kitchen. IT’s got the perfect balance and tar lime and sweetness. You can use the suggested whipped cream or substitute a meringue topping.
Fold in half along dotted line, blank sides facing in
Fold in half along dotted line, blank sides facing in
Cook Like James
Rugelach with Chocolate Currant Walnut Filling
Prep
Cook
Yield
The trick to great rugelach is making a flaky buttery rich pastry dough. If the dough gathers into a cohesive mass around the blade in the food processor work bowl, you have over-processed it. Make sure to stop processing at the point where the mixture is s…
Ingredients
Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Dough
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ pound unsalted butter (2 sticks), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8 ounces cream cheese, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons sour cream
Filling
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped
¾ cup currants
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped fine
2/3 cup apricot or raspberry preserves, optional (processed briefly in food processor to break up large chunks)
Egg Yolk -and- Milk Glaze
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar, or granulated sugar
Cook Like James · The method
Directions
1
Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Dough
2
For the dough: Pulse flour, sugar, and salt to combine in food processor fitted with steel blade. Add butter and cream cheese pieces and sour cream; pulse until dough comes together in small, uneven pebbles the size of cottage cheese curds, about sixteen 1-second pulses. Turn mixture onto work surface, press into 9-inch-by-6-inch log, divide log into four equal portions, and press each into 4 1/2-by-3/4-inch disk. Place each disk between two sheets plastic wrap; roll out to form 8 1/2-inch circle. Stack dough circles on plate; freeze 30 minutes (or up to 1 month if stored in zipper-lock freezer bag).
3
Meanwhile, mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; mix currants, mini chips, and orange zest in another small bowl and set aside with other filling ingredients.
4
Working with one dough round, remove from freezer and spread with 2 tablespoons of preserves (if using), 1/4 cup mini chips/currant mixture, 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar, and 1/2 cup walnuts, in that order, over dough; pat down gently with fingers. Cut dough round into eight wedges. Roll each wedge into crescent shape and place at 2-inch intervals on parchment paper-lined heavy rimmed baking pans. Freeze crescents at least 15 minutes. (Frozen crescents, if well-wrapped, can be frozen in a zipper-lock bag up to 6 weeks.) Repeat with remaining dough rounds.
5
Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk egg yolks and milk in small bowl until smooth. Brush top and sides of frozen crescents with egg-milk mixture and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake crescents, turning baking pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time, until pale gold and slightly puffy, 21 to 23 minutes. Immediately sprinkle each cookie with scant teaspoon of remaining cinnamon sugar; carefully transfer hot, fragile cookies to cooling rack using thin-bladed spatula. (Can be stored in an airtight container up to 4 days.)
6
Shaping dough into 4 rounds
7
Rolling into 8 1/2" circle
Cook Like James
Rugelach with Chocolate Currant Walnut Filling
Prep
Cook
Yield
The trick to great rugelach is making a flaky buttery rich pastry dough. If the dough gathers into a cohesive mass around the blade in the food processor work bowl, you have over-processed it. Make sure to stop processing at the point where the mixture is s…
Ingredients
Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Dough
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ pound unsalted butter (2 sticks), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8 ounces cream cheese, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons sour cream
Filling
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped
¾ cup currants
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped fine
2/3 cup apricot or raspberry preserves, optional (processed briefly in food processor to break up large chunks)
Egg Yolk -and- Milk Glaze
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar, or granulated sugar
Directions
1
Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Dough
2
For the dough: Pulse flour, sugar, and salt to combine in food processor fitted with steel blade. Add butter and cream cheese pieces and sour cream; pulse until dough comes together in small, uneven pebbles the size of cottage cheese curds, about sixteen 1-second pulses. Turn mixture onto work surface, press into 9-inch-by-6-inch log, divide log into four equal portions, and press each into 4 1/2-by-3/4-inch disk. Place each disk between two sheets plastic wrap; roll out to form 8 1/2-inch circle. Stack dough circles on plate; freeze 30 minutes (or up to 1 month if stored in zipper-lock freezer bag).
3
Meanwhile, mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; mix currants, mini chips, and orange zest in another small bowl and set aside with other filling ingredients.
4
Working with one dough round, remove from freezer and spread with 2 tablespoons of preserves (if using), 1/4 cup mini chips/currant mixture, 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar, and 1/2 cup walnuts, in that order, over dough; pat down gently with fingers. Cut dough round into eight wedges. Roll each wedge into crescent shape and place at 2-inch intervals on parchment paper-lined heavy rimmed baking pans. Freeze crescents at least 15 minutes. (Frozen crescents, if well-wrapped, can be frozen in a zipper-lock bag up to 6 weeks.) Repeat with remaining dough rounds.
5
Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk egg yolks and milk in small bowl until smooth. Brush top and sides of frozen crescents with egg-milk mixture and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake crescents, turning baking pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time, until pale gold and slightly puffy, 21 to 23 minutes. Immediately sprinkle each cookie with scant teaspoon of remaining cinnamon sugar; carefully transfer hot, fragile cookies to cooling rack using thin-bladed spatula. (Can be stored in an airtight container up to 4 days.)
