Anna Francese Gass
Grandma Harriet’s rugelach
2 cups of all-purpose flour, plus a little for rolling
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla powder or extract
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
8 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, and cut into small pieces
Sanding sugar, for garnish
1 tablespoon of white sugar
1/4 cup of toasted chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons of white sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Place the flour, sugar, vanilla powder, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Feed the cheese and butter though the tube with the motor running. Once a dough begins to form, add the sour cream and continue to mix until fully combined. The dough will be very tacky.
With floured hands, remove the dough from the processor onto a large piece of cling wrap. Press the dough into a large circle and wrap tightly. Place in the refrigerator for one hour.
Once the dough is ready, cut it into four equal parts. Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees.
Roll each dough into a thin 12-inch in diameter round. Spread the filling of choice over the dough and cut the dough into 16 equal triangles.
Carefully roll the dough up from the ends of each triangle to the tip. Place the cookie, seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes, until the rugelach are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
Tips
Use a pizza cutter or kitchen shears to make cutting the triangles easy.
Get creative with fillings whether you’re using different jams, cinnamon sugar, nuts, or Nutella.
Instead of the sanding sugar, you can swap confectioner’s sugar after they’re baked and cooled.
Add lemon zest to the dough for a pop of flavor.
Roll and freeze so you’ll always have a fresh cookie ready to bake from the freezer. Just add 2 to 3 minutes extra baking time.
For easiest spreading (and to prevent dough ripping) warm the Nutella before spreading.