Thursday, February 25, 2010

Chocolate Almond Rugelach

There's a strong magnet pulling me in the direction of the kitchen.
I'm having trouble ignoring it.

These might be the problem. They are cooling on the counter.

I was seven or eight when I tried my first rugelach. We lived in Atlanta at the time, and a store called Harry's Farmers Market (looks like Whole Foods owns it now!) was in the regular grocery rotation. In my memory it was part warehouse, part gourmet food shop, with a labyrinth of aisles holding special local and imported items. Mom did a lot of baking when we were kids, but one of the few things she bought were their housemade chocolate rugelach cookies.

Rugelach are my very favorite cookie, for eating and for baking. They are the poster child for easy to make with huge wow factor baked goods. I make them often, and never the same filling twice.


This is the first time I've attempted to duplicate that yummy favorite from Harry's. I don't know what else was in that filling, but I'd bet on some kind of nut and cinnamon.
My version has blackberry jam, toasted almonds, and of course, cinnamon sugar.
The cream cheese dough is so, so easy- three ingredients and a piece of cake to work with.
Don't ya love how it comes together in the food processor?
It goes from floury and loose to slightly wet to large chunks to big ball of dough.
Love that kitchen magic.


There are a million variation possibilities; just substitute any jam/spread, nuts, and sprinkles of sugar. Here is my original recipe for the cream cheese dough and a walnut-olallieberry filling.


This batch subs 1/3 cup blackberry jam, about 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, 1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds, and 1/4 cup sugar with 1/2 tsp cinnamon mixed in.



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6 comments:

Erica said...

I have never had a Rugelach! They are so pretty...and your filling? drool. I'd have to give these away or I'd eat the whole lot of them :) Hope you have a good weekend

VEGAN TICKLES said...

I've tried making rugelach 3 times and failed each time. I make them using vegan ingredients, don't know if that might be the problem. So I get jealous every time I see a blogger make them successfully, I turn into a green-eyed monster.

RhodeyGirl said...

Do you swear this is easy to do??? Because they look AMAZING! If we do something fun for Easter I will have to make these!

My favorite bakery in Rhode Island, Pastiche, makes an amazing version with small raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon. To die for!

Sarah said...

I SWEAR Sabrina, these are so easy! The dough is such a piece of cake, just make sure the cream cheese and butter are REALLY cold.
And spread your filling on the dough before you cut it. It just makes it easier, and less mess.

I hope you try your own, they would be perfect for Easter!

RhodeyGirl said...

Thank you!!!

Sook said...

Oh wow these look fabulous! I drooled on the screen while looking at your fantastic pictures... :) Yum!