I had the best rugelach ever when I went to Hof Kersten, a famous Jewish bakery-deli in Montreal. The cream cheese dough was shaped into small rectangular pockets and filled with strawberry jam and nuts. The chef didn’t give me the recipe, but he did tell me the ingredients. I noticed that his pastries were very similar to mine. The simple American cream cheese butter dough was so delicious that a Montreal critic mistook Hof Kersten’s version for the French one. Mille-feuille sweets!
Years earlier, as I watched a worker make dough on the Lower East Side, I was struck by the way she cut the dough using the side of her hand. Since then, I’ve done the same with Rugelac to maintain a connection to the past.
In addition to the dough, the recipe is made up of high-quality jam and toasted nuts that are not too finely chopped, as well as an old-fashioned cutting technique that creates pockets inside warm jam cookies. Also, heat the oven to 400 degrees, and as soon as you add the rugelach, lower it to 350 degrees to firm up the dough. Recently, Martha’s She made rugelac for a group of women breaking their fast on the Vineyard, and they either ate it or took it home. Here is the recipe packed with all the deliciousness.
Make 32 rugelach
material
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8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
My life in recipes: food, family, memories
joanne nathan
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1 cup (2 sticks/227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
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2 tablespoons granulated sugar
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2 cups (250 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
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pinch of salt
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1 cup (315 grams) of thick, high-quality raspberry or strawberry jam
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3/4 cup (75 grams) walnuts, toasted and finely chopped (leaving some larger chunks aside)
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2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (for sprinkling) (see notes)
direction
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Place cream cheese, butter, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Apply the cream for about 2 minutes until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the flour and salt, and mix until a very soft dough forms, about 1 minute more. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic or food-grade silicone, wrap tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
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Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 4 balls and pat each into a rough square. Roll one piece into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick (approximately 9 by 12 inches). Spoon a quarter of the jam onto the rectangle, spreading it almost to the edges and leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the perimeter. Sprinkle with a quarter of the nuts.
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Roll up the dough along the long sides like a jelly roll, tucking in the edges and laying seam side down. Using the side of your hand like a knife, he cuts the roll into eight pieces (this will cause the dough to partially shrink closed, but using a real knife will give it a more spiraled look. It will be created). Place slices on prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough and filling. You will need 16 cookies per baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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Place two oven racks in the center and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the rugelach from the refrigerator and use your fingers to crimp the edges closed. (Don’t worry too much if the jam overflows as it will caramelize beautifully.) Sprinkle the cookies generously with vanilla sugar. Place the sheet in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, then replace the baking sheet, rotate back and forth, and bake for about 15 more minutes, or until the rugelach is golden brown on top. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Note: To make vanilla sugar: Place about 4 cups sugar in a bowl or glass jar with a lid. Remove the vanilla bean pod, carefully cut into lengths, and pop the bean out of the center of the vanilla. Soak the pods in sugar, close the jar and leave for at least a day. Even if the recipe doesn’t call for vanilla, use it whenever you want to make pastry with vanilla or sprinkle it on rugelach.
from My life in recipes: food, family, memories © 2024 by Joanne Nathan. Excerpted with permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without written permission from the publisher.
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