Rosca de Reyes
Christina Morales, Caroline Lange, La Monarca Bakery
146 ratings with an average rating of 3 out of 5 stars
146
About 2 hours
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To make the dough: Let the cream cheese and butter rest on the counter for 10 minutes — you want them to be slightly softened but still cool.
Put the flour and salt in a food processor, scatter over the chunks of cream cheese and butter and pulse the machine 6 to 10 times. Then process, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds — don’t work it so long that it forms a ball on the blade.
Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 1 day. (Wrapped airtight, the dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.)
To make the filling: Heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat, or do this in a microwave, until it liquefies. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. (Silicone baking mats are great for rugelach.)
To shape the cookies: Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it is too firm to roll easily, either leave it on the counter for about 10 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin.
Working on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 11- to 12-inch circle. Spoon (or brush) a thin gloss of jam over the dough, and sprinkle over half of the cinnamon sugar. Scatter over half of the nuts, half of the currants and half of the chopped chocolate. Cover the filling with a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch.
Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges, or triangles. (The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough into quarters, then to cut each quarter into 4 triangles.) Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each cookie becomes a little crescent. Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate. Repeat with the second packet of dough, and refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes before baking. (The cookies can be covered and refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don’t defrost before baking, just add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.)
Getting ready to bake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To finish: Stir the egg and water together, and brush a bit of this glaze over each rugelach. Sprinkle the cookies with sugar.
Bake the cookies 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until they are puffed and golden. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or to room temperature.
This recipe has a technical omission that should be accounted for in step 7 - the warmed jam must be cooled to room temperature before it can be spread on the rolled out dough, else the butter and cream cheese in the dough will soften to the point of making the rolling-up step impossible.
Too many ingredients in the filling. I agree w/ Jo.L, that Nathan's and Heatter's are simpler.
Traditional rugelach have EITHER a preserve filling; or a cinnamon/nut/raisin mixture; but never both; and certainly never both + chocolate.
Come to think of it, chocolate was never an ingredient in our Russian grandmother's babka, rugelach, or any dessert. I guess because there was no chocolate in her shtetl. :-)
I'd really appreciate it (as would a million others) if the Times would stop assuming we all have a food processor. How about providing directions for alternative methods? A regular mixer? Stand, or hand held? or, as my bubbe made her rugelach, by hand... Thanks, Times.
The dough here is a "classic" like one passed down in my family from a Brooklyn (née Austria) grandmother. Other fillings are possible and hers differed from this one. None had chocolate. Her most popular was a dab of orange marmalade - not necessary to soften it before spreading - plus chopped walnuts for crunch; or a mix of sugar, raisins, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon. No sugar on top. Experiment! And be prepared - rolling up the sections can be fiddly; don't over fill.
Half pound butter, half pound cream cheese, 1-1/2 c flour. Roll out rectangle. on floured board. Spread with grape jelly (use offset spreader), chopped walnuts, raisins and sugar-cinnamon mixture. Slice in half. Roll each half jelly roll style and slice using pizza cutter. My family has been doing it this way for 70+ years and it has never failed to be a hit
I found this just a little bit too fussy--but then, I'm an old person. I have another rugelach recipe, courtesy of Joan Nathan, and one from Maida Heatter, both of which are more simple and, I think, just as delicious! Perhaps I'm not accustomed to the chocolate, which I don't remember from either the rugelach my grandmother made (along with her killer blintzes) or the Jewish Bakeshop in Cincinnati, where my mother bought rugelach for the holidays.
My Grandma used sour cream and an egg yolk to make the dough. I think sour cream would have been more typical in Russia than cream cheese. Anyway the recipe makes really delicious ruggies.
Don't roll too tightly, it'll keep the dough from getting flakey in the middle.
Correct, dear Jo.L. You don't remember chocolate because it's a convention brought to Jewish cooking by baby boomers. The Eastern European kitchen didn't know chocolate. And that, more than any other reason, is why I don't make anything from our ancestors with chocolate. Chocolate babka? Nope. Chocolate ruggies? Nope. :-)
If someone doesn't have a food processor, then they could use the time-tested techniques that one would always use for incorporating butter/sour cream into flour-cutting in with a pastry blender or two knives.
Delicious. Made one batch with peach jam and one batch with raspberry. Crust was ultra flaky and filling yummy. One problem was getting the cream cheese and butter to meld in the food processor. Sounded as though it was going to burn out the motor. It may help to let the butter get softer rather than just leaving it out for 10 minutes.
Delicious, light and flaky. I may never buy rugelach again!
Can I make the dough without a food processor? Will a pastry blender work?
actually my great aunts recipe calls for apricot jam and cinnamon, walnut raisin..from Russia...so maybe there is no such thing as never both...:)
Sure it will. Blend until coarse crumb texture like a shortbread.
Delicious. Made one batch with peach jam and one batch with raspberry. Crust was ultra flaky and filling yummy. One problem was getting the cream cheese and butter to meld in the food processor. Sounded as though it was going to burn out the motor. It may help to let the butter get softer rather than just leaving it out for 10 minutes.
Don't roll too tightly, it'll keep the dough from getting flakey in the middle.
Can you use Neufchatel low fat cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese? I always have one and not the other.
I have and they turn out just fine.
This makes 32 cookies, not 36. Not a big deal unless you are trading multiple dozens with others in a cookie swap.
I had to add some liquid to the dough, I used about 1 TBL lemon juice and 1 TBL of half and half (just what I had on hand). This made it much easier to form into a ball without making it too sticky. You can substitute any flavor of jam and I think these would come out well. I believe that in western Europe a chocolate filling is common and the fruity fillings are more common to the east. Both are great options for this..it's fun to experiment with flavor!
i subbed pistachio for the nuts, and left out the raisins/currants. and made sure to let the jam cool (as someone mentioned in the previous comments) completely (don’t wanna melt the dough!). perfect level of sweetness (but this will rest on the sweetness of the jam you use, too). these are absolutely delicious!
I tried baking these on two different racks. That didn’t work for me. With the second batch, I will bake each batch individually. Great recipe. Thank you.
While these cream-cheese-based rugalach look and probably taste delicious, I make mine with a chilled, yeast-leavened dough that yields a somewhat sweet, but flaky cookie.
I am interested in your recipe if you're willing to share.
I'd really appreciate it (as would a million others) if the Times would stop assuming we all have a food processor. How about providing directions for alternative methods? A regular mixer? Stand, or hand held? or, as my bubbe made her rugelach, by hand... Thanks, Times.
If someone doesn't have a food processor, then they could use the time-tested techniques that one would always use for incorporating butter/sour cream into flour-cutting in with a pastry blender or two knives.
Delicious, but if following the directions this will only makes 32 cookies, not 36 (cutting two circles into 16 pieces). And I split the fillings--half the dough got preserves, cinnamon and sugar, and currants, the other half got preserves, cinnamon and sugar, and chocolate. Both delicious.
Very good recipe, but labor-intensive and a bit too chocolatey for my taste. Next time I will make the dough and leave out the chocolate. It overwhelms. No subtlety of flavor and can't taste the jam, cinnamon. But chocolate lovers will be in heaven.
I made this recipe exactly as written however I used gluten free flour. Everyone said it was the best rugalach they’d ever had - bar none. Gluten free dough is a little stiffer to work so patience and beaten egg and water for glue are needed. I agree with the comments about chocolate. While my wife likes chocolate, I don’t recall them as a youth. I’m making a batch for a big party and I believe I’ll make only a few of the chocolate ones for my bride.
Can I make the dough without a food processor? Will a pastry blender work?
Sure it will. Blend until coarse crumb texture like a shortbread.
is the decorative sugar put on before cooking or after?
nevermind, just saw the answer
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