Chef Shelley Pogue

Chocolate Chip Rugelach Recipes

Rugelach are a cross between a cookie and a little rolled up pastry. They are a Jewish sweet treat that is traditionally rolled into a crescent-shape. The word rugelach comes from the Yiddish word Rugel which translates into Royal. These pastries are now mainstream, and come with a myriad of fillings, including many that include jam and finely chopped nuts. The dough is traditionally cream cheese dough, which some believe to have been developed in the U.S. by the Philadelphia Cream Cheese company.

This recipe uses a chocolate chip, walnut and cocoa filling, this recipe will take some time, because the dough needs to chill, and then rolled out, and cut.

For the cream cheese dough you will need:

2 3/4 Cups all purpose flour

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 Teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

8 Ounces of cream cheese, softened

1/2 Teaspoon vanilla

2 Large egg yolks

Chocolate Chip Filling:

1/4 Cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

3/4 Cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 Cup sugar

1 Tablespoon unsweetened powdered cocoa

1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon

You will combine all of the above ingredients in a bowl and set aside for a minute.

Glaze:

1 Beaten egg yolk

1/4 Cup water

1/4 Cup sugar

Combine the three ingredients above and set aside.

To make the dough, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. In another large bowl, beat together the butter and cream in a mix-master or hand held mixer until light and fluffy. Then beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until it is just combined.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough just until it is smooth. Then divide the dough into halves, and shape each piece into a disk. Wrap each disk in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours or overnight.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough at a time into a large round. Spread half of the chocolate chip mixture evenly over the dough. Using a pastry cutter or paring knife, you will then cut the dough into about 16 wedges. Starting at the wider end, roll each pastry up in jelly-roll fashion, ending with the pointed edge resting on top of each cookie. Roll the remaining rugelach in the same manner.

Preheat the oven to 350F if you have an electric oven, and 325F if you have a gas oven. Turn off the convection fan if you have a gas oven with the convection features.

Lay the cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet, or on a silicon mat If you prefer to use them. You will then brush each pastry very lightly with the egg wash. You will then bake the rugelach for about 10-15 minutes, and then turn them 180 degrees in the oven to make sure they are cooked evenly. You will want to cook them until they are golden brown in color, about 25-30 minutes, watching closely to make sure they do not burn on the bottom. Remove from the oven and cool on wire baking racks until cool enough to eat. Enjoy!

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA. Shelley is also the desserts editor for http://www.bellaonline.com/site/desserts

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