Rugelach, Take 2

Mulled, spicy, red wine in a buttery, pastry-like cookie. Um, yeah, I’m ready for fall baking.

And Fall Eating!!

Most people are craving their pumpkin latte’s right about now in anticipation of cooler weather. But I am all about mulled cider and mulled wine. Just the smell alone when I’m simmering a mulled drink with spices and fruit makes the whole house smell like fall!

I know that I have shared a Rugelach recipe with y’all before but, let me tell ya’, this version is amazing! I made a mulled red wine jelly for the filling. Since you don’t need much of the jelly for the Rugelach, you’ll have some leftover for your toast or scones.

And, in my opinion, you can eat cookies for breakfast if that cookie is Rugelach. Go ahead. You know you want to!

I will say that making rugelach takes awhile but it’s not that the cookie is hard to make or so time consuming that you’ll be stuck in the kitchen for hours. But you do have to chill the dough. And I mean, A LOT!

I make the dough, wrap it up and chill it for several hours. For me, it’s easy to just throw it together before work. If I have time, I also make the jelly filling in the morning. Then, when I get home, I can roll them out, top them, shape them and chill them again.

Once they are firm, give ’em a quick brush with the egg wash, press on some pretty, sparkling sanding sugar and bake.

I LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. rugelach when it first comes out of the oven (well, you have to wait a few minutes because that filling gets HOT!).

The greatest thing about this delightful cookie is that you can make up so many fillings! You could have  4 varieties with this one batch of dough! Spread on a little Nutella, use a ready-made jelly or jam in your favorite flavor or go traditional and spread on some apricot jam then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Then decide if you want boy cookies or girl cookies (not trying to offend here but boy cookies have nuts and girl cookies don’t. Just sayin’!) You can use any kind of nuts that you have on hand that go with your filling flavor. A little crunch in that buttery pastry is beautiful.

Rugelach perfection!

These cookies make great gifts!

These cookies are just cute!

That’s how I roll!

Um, yum!!

These were gone in a FLASH!

Have you ever had Rugelach before? What’s your favorite filling? Let me know in the comments below!

Mulled Wine Rugelach

by Tanya from Global Bakes

For the filling

• 1 cups (230 mL) mulled, spiced Red Wine
• 310 grams granulated sugar
• 1 orange, sliced
• 5 Tablespoons powdered pectin, Ball brand
• 50 mL water
• Up to ½ teaspoon Ground cloves
• Up to 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 30 grams walnuts, shelled and chopped
• 100 grams (½ cup) brown sugar

For the dough

• 226 grams cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into chunks
• 226 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 260 grams all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 30 minutes prior to baking.
2. Add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 3 or 4 times to blend together. Add the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Pulse about 10 to 12 times until a dough forms. Don’t go too far! It should be crumbly not a ball on the blade!
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and turn the dough out onto a well-floured counter and roll it into a ball. With a bench scrapper or knife, cut the ball in 4 pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
4. In a 2 quart non-reactive saucepan, heat the wine, fruit and spices (if needed after tasting wine) to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add ½ cup of sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes then strain through a fine mesh sieve. Return liquid to the saucepan; add lemon juice and mix well.
5. In a bowl, mix remaining sugar with pectin until thoroughly combined.
6. Return the strained wine mix to a full boil. Add pectin and sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. You must keep stirring to dissolve the pectin all the way. Remove from heat and pour into a heat proof bowl or jar. Refrigerate until set.
7. On a well-floured board, roll the first ball of dough into a circle about 9 inches across.
8. Spread about 1 Tablespoon mulled wine jelly with an offset spatula into a very thin layer.
9. Sprinkle with about a quarter of the brown sugar and chopped nuts. Lightly press the filling into the dough.
10. Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges by cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. You can cut larger wedges if you want bigger cookies (but less in total!).
11. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge like a crescent roll. Place the cookies, keeping the points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until firm.
12. Beat egg and water together lightly and then brush on the top of each cookie. Press some sanding sugar onto each cookie. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough balls.
13. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.