Rugelach

Good morning, everyone!

I was not able to complete the Chocolate Truffle tarts last month.  Too much going on.  I started the recipe but didn’t get very far. I decide to freeze the cookie crust for another time.  I will probably finish it this weekend.  

I am happy to report I made the Rugelach. I really haven’t decided if I will make this again.  It’s a great festive occasion sweet which would be great at Christmas. But, while not too difficult, it is a lot of work. There are numerous steps and for busy people this is just not practical to make during the week.

I am a big fan of anything with cream cheese so I really wanted to try this recipe.  I had to improvise.  I forgot about the levkar so I substituted apple butter in its place.   I have to say the cookies taste delicious anyway!  

Big Question! What is everyone doing with all these baked goods?  My husband, bless his heart, has decided to give up sweets for Lent!  I certainly can’t eat all this myself.  My sons are too far away to use as guinea pigs and I think my co-workers are Christmas goodied out.  If I eat all this myself, I will big as big as my house and never make it out alive!  It’s the one thing I did not consider when I started this adventure.  

At least this time, I had no problems with my mixer.  Everything went smoothly except I struggle with rolling out a square. I never can do it properly.  Mine were more like half moons!  

I had no problems with the making the dough itself.  This is the dough right out of the mixer and after shaping. I refrigerated it for a few hours and later Sunday evening, I rolled out the dough into the so called rectangles and filled with all the goodies.   I placed both rolls in my refrigerator to chill overnight.

Since I had to work Monday, I finished off the baking after I got home from work.  This part was pretty easy.  In no time, I had finished cookies.

If you are looking for a fancy treat to serve for a special occasion, this recipe from Baking with Julia, by Julia Child would be a good choice.  Just allow two days to go through all the preparation.  It can be found on page 325-327  of her aforementioned book. 

Happy Baking!