Rugelah

Yummy Jewish cookies you can personalize totally for yourself. From Temple Kol Ami Cooking classes

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 48

Ingredients

• 7  ounces butter
• 8  ounces cream cheese
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 2  cups flour
• 1  egg (for glaze)
• 1  tablespoon sugar (for glaze)
•  apricot seedless  jam (optional) or   raspberry seedless  jam (optional)
•  raisins (optional)
•  chocolate (optional)
•  walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream 7 oz. of butter and 8 oz. cream cheese together. add 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoons vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add 2 cups of flour and mix lightly. Refrigerate dough for an hour or more. Then divide the chilled dough into 4 balls.
2. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, foll one ball of dough into a circle until about 1/8 inches thick.
3. Whatever filling you use, spread it from center of the circle. My favorite is Apricot Walnut (1 cup of apricot jam and 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts). A household favorite is Chocolate which is made by sprinkling grated chocolate and sugar. Another idea is Raspberry Raisin (1 cup of raspberry jam and 1/2 cup raisins).
4. Cut the pastry into pie shaped wedges. a pizza cutter makes it easier to cut the dough, but a knife can be used too. For bite-sized and nice looking cookies the thick end of the wedge should be about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. If you use too much filling, it will fall out and result in messy looking cookies.
5. Start at the wide edge of the wedge and roll the dough up to the point.
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place each pastry, seam side down, on the paper. If you don't want to use parchment, you can spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. If you want to freeze the cookies and bake them later, put the cookies on the parchment paper into the freezer.
7. Brush each pastry with the egg and sugar.
8. Bake at 350F for 20-25 mins or until golden.