Rugelach

Soon I will be adding a post about the exciting weekend I just spent in DC, but until I have a chance to get it out, I'll post this recipe for rugelach. I've tried other rugelach recipes, but found this had the best results and was less tedious than others, which often involve multiple rounds of chilling, bringing to room temp, re-chilling, and on. It's a bit much. This recipe, while it does have an element of chill time, is much easier. The dough is quickly combined in a food processor, and chills for a mere two hours. It's something you can quickly put together in one night, with great results- flaky, delicious, and customizable. I love creating new types of filling for rugelach. My all-time favorite is chocolate, which I made here, though I also created a raspberry almond version.

Rugelach, adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking From My Home to Yours

For the Dough

4 oz cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

For the Chocolate Fillling

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Handful finely chopped walnuts

For the Raspberry Filling

2/3 cup raspberry jam (warmed if not easily spreadable)

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup sliced or chopped almonds

For the Glaze

1 egg, beaten

Sanding sugar

To Make the Dough:

Let the cream cheese and butter rest for 10 minutes before using. Put the flour and salt in the food processor, then scatter the butter and cream cheese pieces over them. Pulse the machine 6 to 10 times, then process, scraping down the sides until the dough forms large curds. Do not let it form a ball on the blade. Overworking will cause the dough to be significantly less flaky.

Turn the dough out, and gather into a ball. Divide it in half, shape each half into a disk, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to one day. (The dough can also be frozen for 2 months).

To make the filling:

For raspberry, combine sugar, almonds, and cinnamon. Keep jam aside.

For chocolate, combine sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, walnuts, and chocolate chips

To make the cookies:

Pull the dough packets from the fridge. Lightly flour a surface, and roll each packet of dough into a 12 inch circle. For raspberry, spread the raspberry jam across the surface, in a layer thinner than you think you need. (If it's too thick to spread, zap it in the microwave for a few seconds). Then sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar/almond mixture.

For the chocolate, simply sprinkle the tops with the cocoa powder and walnut mixture.

Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough in quarters, then slice each quarter into quarters. You'll wind up with 16 triangles. Starting at the base of a triangle, roll the it up so each cookie is crescent shaped. Repeat with each triangle. Refrigerate for 30 mins before baking, and preheat oven to 350.

When ready to bake, arrange the cookies on a baking sheet covered with nonstick foil. Brush the tops of the cookies with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden. Cool on wire racks. Store for a week in an airtight container.

Swedish Visiting Cake

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for a theme or a name. I love holidays, all things seasonal, and theme parties. My last birthday party was poker themed and my cube at work is decorated with different nautical accessories.

So when I came across Dorie's Swedish Visiting Cake, a cake apparently traditionally made for Swedish women when their friends were visiting, I really wanted to make it. It looked delicious. And this weekend was perfect, because I was going to visit my best friend who lives in Union Square! Could a title ever be more appropriate! I planned to make the cake and bring it to her.

Making the cake was so easy. Honestly, figuring out what to wear in the morning takes more effort (well at least for me it does!) You don't even need to pull out the mixer. Since the recipe calls for melted butter, a simple whisk will do.

And the results show that sometimes the simplest things are the best! The cake was plain, sweet, with a hint of almond flavor and lemon, and a moist texture. I'd recommend going easy on the almond extract, as too much can make it taste chemically (or maybe that's just the grocery-store brand extract I'm using...whoops). Anyway the cake wound up being so good I may not have actually shared it with my friend...oops...but I bought her a bottle of wine when I was in the city! Soo let's just say that substitutes...

Swedish Visiting Cake, from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

1 cup sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract*

1/2 pure almond extract*

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

About 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cast iron skillet or a 9-inch round cake pan or pie pan (I used a cake pan).

Pour the sugar into a medium bowl, and sprinkle the lemon zest over. Rub the zest into the sugar until sugar is aromatic. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Whisk in the salt and extracts.

Using a spatula, stir in the flour, then fold in the melted butter.

Scrape the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with sugar and scatter with almonds.

Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, until it's golden and a little crisp on the outside. The inside will be moist. Remove from oven, let cool five minutes, and then use a thin knife to loosen the cake. Serve. Can be kept for about 5 days if stored airtight.

*You can use any flavor extract you want, or leave extracts out altogether.

Note: I tested my cake with a toothpick and it was done at 27 minutes, but not golden on top. I preferred that rustic, browned look, so I broiled it for just a minute. But if you do that, watch carefully! It browns very quickly!!