Joan Nathan's Rugelach (Cinnamon, Chocolate, or Apricot)

This is a straightforward and reliable cookie/pastry recipe from "Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook" by Joan Nathan. The original recipe doesn't call for any salt, but I think it enhances the flavour. You can play around with the fillings, substituting raspberry preserves for the apricot, pecans for the walnuts, or adding a little orange zest, raisins, or currants to the cinnamon-sugar filling. The dough can also be used to make hamentashen. Dough needs 2 hours refrigeration time.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Yields: 64 cookies

Ingredients

• Dough

• 8  ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1  cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2  cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt (optional)

• Apricot filling

• 1  cup  thick  apricot preserves
• 3⁄4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

• Chocolate filling

• 8  ounces  shaved bittersweet chocolate (optional)
• 1⁄4 cup sugar (optional)

• Cinnamon-sugar filling

• 4  tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (optional)
• 1⁄2 cup sugar (optional)
• 2  teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
•  confectioners' sugar (optional)

Directions

1. To make the dough, place the cream cheese and the butter in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Cream at a low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and salt and mix until a very soft dough is formed, about 2 more minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with baking parchment (or a Silpat baking mat).
3. Mix the ingredients for the apricot or chocolate filling and divide the dough into 4 balls. On a lightly floured surface roll the balls out into 4 circles about 1/8-inch thick and 9 inches in diameter. Spread the apricot or chocolate filling over the dough. If using the cinnamon-sugar filling, brush the melted butter on first, then sprinkle the combined cinnamon and sugar.
4. Using a dull knife, cut each circle into 16 pie-shaped pieces about 2 inches wide at the circumference. Roll up from the wide side to the center. Place the rugelach on the lined cookie sheets. Bake in the oven on the middle and lower racks, switching after 12 minutes, also switching back to front. Continue baking about 13 more minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the rugelach to racks to cool.
5. Sprinkle the apricot and chocolate rugelach with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.