It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year when the world falls in love... And so do the Reynolds family with a new favorite Christmas cookie. Christmas time is all about making some tried and true family recipes, but why not try something new this Christmas. We're glad we ventured out with this classic Rugelach recipe. Rugelach is a traditional holiday treat made with a buttery, flakey crust and filled with a sweet pecan-walnut filling. They were a big hit with the Reynolds boys especially. Simply make the dough, add the filling, and roll 'em up to create a Christmas present that your tongue will be thrilled to open up. 

Make these a new Christmas tradition. We have. 

Nut-Filled Rugelach

Dough:
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (8 ounces) cold cream cheese, cubed
2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg yolk
1 batch filling (see ideas below)
Powdered sugar

Nut Filling:
2 cups walnuts and/or pecans (any combination)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cu honey
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tspn vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to mix.

2. Scatter the cubes of cream cheese and butter over the flour. Pulse 10 to 12 times until coarse crumbs form.

3. Whisk together the vanilla and yolk in a bowl, and the pour them over the butter-flour mixture. Run the processor continuously until the dough starts to clump together and form large curdlike pieces.

4. Turn the dough out onto the counter and gather the pieces into a ball. Divide into four portions and flatten each into 1-inch thick disks.

5. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate the dough at least 2 hours or up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months (thaw in the refrigerator before using).

6. When you are ready to bake the rugelach, preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare filling (below)

7. Sprinkle your work surface generously with powdered sugar. Take one disk of dough from the refrigerator and let it warm on the counter for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle the surface of the dough and the rolling pin with more powdered sugar. Roll the dough from the center out into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Don't worry if a few cracks form near the edges. Use more powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking.

8. Spread the filling in a thin layer evenly over the surface of the dough. Make sure it goes right up to the edge of the dough.

9. Slice the dough into 16 wedges, like a pizza, using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Roll up each wedge, beginning at the wide outer edge and moving inward. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure the tip is tucked underneath.

10. Refrigerate cookies on the baking sheet, 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare remaining batches.

11. Bake the first tray of cookies until golden-brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on the sheet, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack. Bake the remaining cookies.

Filling Directions:
In a food processor, grind 1 cup walnuts and 1 cup pecans until they break into tiny crumbs, 30 to 40 pulses. (Be careful of over-processing and making nut-butter.) Combine the ground nuts in a bowl with 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) melted butter, 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Oh and this is our adorable sister singing in church!