Chef Joey's Vegan Rugelach

I love Jewish desserts and rugelach is one of my all time favourites.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 24

Ingredients

• For the dough

• 1  cup  white  spelt flour
• 1⁄2 cup  cold vegan margarine (cut up)
• 4  ounces  cold vegan cream cheese

• For the filling

• 3⁄4 cup  organic  apricot jam (use a tart jam if substituting)
• 1⁄4 cup raw sugar
• 1⁄2 cup  toasted  nuts (I used almonds and pecans)
• 1  lemon, zest of

• For the topping

• 1⁄4 cup  silk  soy coffee creamer
• 1⁄3 cup  coarse raw sugar

Directions

1. Prepare the pastry by placing the flour in the bowl of a food processor. Give it a pulse to fluff it up. Add the cut up margarine and pulse again.
2. Add the cold vegan cream cheese. I use Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese in this.
3. Pulse the flour, margarine and cheese mixture until a ball forms and then remove. Form into a disc. Cut in half and wrap each disc in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one to 24 hours.
4. Once the pastry is chilled, preheat your oven to 350'F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
5. Put your jam into a small bowl and stir it to get any lumps out of it.
6. Once the oven is heated up, roast your nuts. I did mine at 350 for 7-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
7. Remove the nuts and set aside until cool. Add them along with your lemon zest and sugar into the bowl of a small food chopper and process until the nuts are about 1/3 their original size.
8. Set this aside.
9. Remove one of your pastry discs from the fridge. Lightly flour your counter top and roll the pastry out to a large circle. Make the dough very thin as it will crisp up much better if you do.
10. Spread the jam on the pastry, then sprinkle 1/2 the nut mixture. Cut the rolled out pastry in 4 equal sections, then cut each of the 4 sections into 3 equal sections.
11. Roll from the outside in and place with seam side down on your covered cookie sheet.
12. Brush with the soy creamer and sprinkle with some sugar.
13. Bake for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on these, they can burn easily.
14. Cool on a metal cookie rack.
15. Repeat with the second batch of cookies.
16. You can also sprinkle other sugars on these, icing, or fruit might be nice.
17. Bon Appetit.