Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach
Dough:
- 16 tablespoons (230 grams or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (230 grams or 1 brick) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (215 grams) raspberry jam (preferably seedless)
- ⅔ cup (135 grams) sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons (1½ ounces or 41 grams) pecans, toasted and finely chopped (walnuts and almonds work as well)
- ½ cup (3 ounces or 85 grams) finely chopped bittersweet chocolate or miniature chocolate chips
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon water
- Coarse or sanding sugar, for sprinkling, or additional cinnamon-sugar
Instructions:
Most rugelach are filled with cinnamon-sugar, nuts and dried fruit, sometimes jam as well, and all too infrequently, chocolate.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese together until they are light and fluffy. In a medium bowl, combine the salt and flour, then pour flour mixture into the mixer. Beat on a lower speed until the flour just disappears. Scrape dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and shape as best as you can into a flatish packet. Wrap well in plastic and chill in fridge for two hours or up to three days. The dough can also be frozen for up to two months.
- have also made this dough successfully in the food processor. Just like with a stand mixer, you want to be careful not to overmix the flour—just do so in pulses until it is no longer visible.
- While the dough is chilling, you could go take a nap or read a gossip website—not that I ever do anything like that—but I usually regret it if I don’t use the time to prepare the fillings, because it always takes longer than I anticipated.
- Line three large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Heat your jam in a small saucepan until it simmers. This will loosen it, so it will be easier to spread thinly. If your jam has seeds and you, like me, find raspberry seeds incredibly annoying, you can push the warm jam through a fine-mesh strainer to remove them. Set the warm jam aside.
- Grab four small dishes. Stir together your sugar and cinnamon in one and set it aside. In your second dish, put the pecans. In your third bowl, put the chocolate. In the last one, whisk together your egg yolk and water until it is smooth. While you’re getting organized, you’ll also want to take out a rolling pin, flour for the counter, a small offset spatula or butter knife for spreading the jam, a knife or pastry wheel for cutting the dough, a spoon for the dry toppings, a large piece of waxed paper to help set the fillings, and a brush for the egg wash. See how that dough-chilling time flew?
- Divide your chilled dough into thirds. On a well-floured counter, roll the first third (the remaining two can go back into the fridge until needed) into a large, thin circle about 12 inches in diameter—but please, no reason to trim the edges or fuss if it is slightly larger or smaller. I usually make my first one really neat, remember that it doesn’t matter, and then make the rest into oblong, roundish shapes.
- Spread two to three tablespoons of jam thinly over your dough. (See cooking note about jam levels.) Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar, 2 tablespoons chopped chocolate, and 1 tablespoon chopped nuts. Use your piece of waxed paper to gently press the toppings into the dough so that they spill out less once rolled. You can set the paper aside for the remaining batches. Use your knife to divide the dough into 16 wedges. Roll each wedge tightly from the outside to the center. Transfer the rugelach to the prepared baking sheet—keeping the pointed end of each rugelach tucked underneath—and space them 1 inch apart. Pop the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Repeat the rugelach-making process with remaining filling and two pieces of dough, then chill the trays in the freezer.
- Before baking, brush the rugelach with the egg yolk wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar or extra cinnamon sugar. Bake the rugelach for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are puffed and golden brown. Transfer the rugelach to cooling racks while they are still hot—this is important because the jam that spills out will harden as it cools, making the cookies harder to remove from the paper. Serve cooled or lukewarm.