Rugelach

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Rugelach

The beauty of these scrumptious Jewish pastries is that they can be filled and rolled 1 day ahead. Just keep chilled then egg wash, sugar and cut when ready to cook. Use other combinations of dried fruit and spices to suit your own tastes.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups plain flour
pinch of salt
200 grams butter, diced
250 grams cream cheese, diced
3 tablespoons milk

Filling
½ cup apricot jam
¾ cup finely chopped apricots
¾ cup raisins, finely chopped
60 grams dark chocolate, finely chopped
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ginger

To assemble
1 egg, beaten
raw sugar for sprinkling

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170˚C

Dough: Put the flour, salt, butter and cream cheese in a food processor and process until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and process until the dough just starts to come together. Tip onto the bench and bring together with your hands. Divide into two equal pieces and form into thick logs.
Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Filling: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
To assemble: Roll out one piece of dough on a lightly floured bench to a rectangle about 38 cm x 28 cm. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
Spread each rectangle with half of the jam then sprinkle over half of the filling. Gently pat the filling onto the dough so it doesn’t fall off when rolling. Roll up from the long side to form a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm. Brush the logs with beaten egg and sprinkle generously with sugar. Cut each log into 8 pieces and place seam side down on a lined baking tray.
Bake for about 20 minutes until golden and crispy. Transfer the rugelach to a cooling rack and dust with icing sugar to serve. Makes 16