Rugelach and am back!

Note -I have moved my blog from www.aromasfrommykitchen.blogspot.com.

Alright am back.Welcome to my site,I am extremely delighted about having my own space for blogging. A big big thanks to friend R who helped me work this out. After having made peace with Plagiarism I have decided to move on.Thanks for your solidarity.This site was completed a few days back,but had a lil bit of technical glitches here n there,its all done now . up and running(Haven’t you heard that a zillion times at work:-))

I wanted to come up with something different and unusual. On my page,you would find Kitchen Vocab &Chemistry -where I will share some tips,ideas etc.The Art work section is for all my creative work.I have worked a lil on these pages for now,however I will keep updating them . Recipe Index ? the name says it all.

I wanted to start blogging with a sweet and baked these cute lil ones.Rugelach is a cookie made with cream cheese dough spread with any filling such as jam,syrup,cinnamon and nuts.It is called the “ultimate pastry cookie”,also referred as butter or nut horns(origin being European Jewish Community).As far as I know,they come in two shapes,one in the form of small rolls and the most popular being the crescent shaped one.There are again ways to make them,some use sour cream and others use cream cheese (like I did).These doughs are rolled out into circles,sugar,cinnamon and nuts are spread over,cut into pie shape/pizza shapes and rolled up in the form of crescents.I believe in the US the dough is called as ?cream cheese dough?.I have tweaked the recipe a lil as per my requirement.

Recipe Source:Joy of Cooking book

Preparation Time:40 min(including baking time,excluding cooling time)

Servings:16 large crescents and 14 small rectangles

Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter (2 sticks),softened

6 ounces cream cheese(softened)

2 Cup All Purpose Flour

A tsp ground Cinnamon

1/3 Cup Sugar

A cup Strawberry Syrup(The original recipe asked for any fruit preserves or Jam)

1 Cup mini chocolate chips(Raisins can also be used)

3 tbsp grounded Walnuts/Almonds(coarsely grounded)

Method: Beat Butter and Cream Cheese on medium speed until blended(I used my Kitchen Aid,an electric mixer will do good too).Add the flour and beat until;the dough comes together. Divide the dough into three parts.Flatten one part of it into 6×4 rectangle or 6 circle. Wrap in a plastic and refrigerate for an hour.(I divided them into 1 rectangle and 2 circles).

Preheat oven to 350F.Cover a cookie sheet with Parchment paper.Work with one portion of the dough(leave the remainder refrigerated).Mix Sugar and cinnamon together.

Rectangular Rugelach:

Shape by rolling each portion in to a 16X10 rectangle,about 1/8 thick.Use flour for dusting.Leaving border spread 1 rectangle with the syrup,place a line of chocolate chips in one end.Sprinkle sugar cinnamon mixture and nuts.Roll the dough starting at the chocolate end ,gently tucking and tightening as you go.Cut the roll into 1 1/2 slices.Repeat with remaining rectangles.(I wanted them to look like cinnamon rolls hence,sliced them really thin).

Crescent Rugelach:

Shape by rolling each portion into a circle about 14 in diameter.Spread the jam in thin layer,sprinkle cinnamon mixture and the nuts.Cut the circle like a pizza,creating 8 large or 16 small even triangles.Roll up from the wide end to the point,tucking the point under.Repeat with the remaining circles.(I made a small and a large circle)

Place the Rugelach to the cookie sheet and sprinkle each cookie with the cinnamon sugar mixture.Bake until bottoms are golden brown (top will still be blond),about 25mins.Remove and let stand on a rack until they firm slightly.

Verdict:

I usually buy the crescent rolls and bake them at home,which makes a perfect snack for evening.But nothing can beat the home made ones.The nutty texture really stands out.Its not that fluffy as the usual crescent that we get in grocery store.Its very easy to bake and the ingredients arent that complicated.Rugelach rocks!!!

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Scandinavian Pecan Cookies