Cinnamon rugelach with dried cranberries and walnots
These cinnamon rugelach are made with a cream cheese dough that is very easy to work with. They are filled with cinnamon, dried cranberry, vanilla, and walnuts. They are very popular on Christmas cookie trays!
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Add flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together.
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a square. Wrap and chill dough for at least 2 hours.
Cinnamon rugelach filling with dried cranberries
In the bowl of a food processor, combine walnuts with dried cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, cream, and vanilla extract. Pulse the mixture until it is ground fairly fine and evenly mixed. The filling will resemble coarse, wet sand.
How to shape & bake cinnamon rugelach
Preheat oven to 350 ℉ (175 ℃). Line a couple of sheet pans with parchment paper.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a rectangle that is approximately 7x13 inches (18x33 cm) on a lightly floured surface.
Sprinkle one quarter of the cranberry filling mixture generously over the surface of the dough and press lightly to anchor the filling. Roll it tightly into a 13-inch (33 cm) log, setting it seam-side down.
Brush the log with cream and sprinkle the top generously with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Cut into 12 or 13 pieces (roughly cut every 1 inch or 2.5 cm).
Transfer rugelach to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about an inch, keeping the seam-side of each cookie down and placing each cookie standing upright on the cookie sheets.
Bake cookies until they are golden brown (this takes at least 25–30 minutes). You want the cream cheese dough to bake completely, the seam side and tops of the cookies should be golden brown and the center of the cookies completely baked and set.
Notes
Filling substitions:
nut-free rugelach: replace the toasted walnuts with the same amount of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
cranberries: replace the dried cranberries with the same amount of dried cherries, apricots, or your favourite dried fruit
Other fillings to try:
chocolate filling made from chopped chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon
Time: The longest part of this recipe is the hands-off time when the dough is chilling and the cookies are in the oven baking. Factor that in when you are planning to bake this recipe.Chilling: Chilling the dough is important to give the flour time to hydrate, the gluten to relax, and to cool down the butter so that you can roll the dough easily. Cold doughs also help ensure the cookies don't spread.Shaping: These rugelach are rolled and cut the same way you would sticky buns (check out these Crock-Pot cinnamon rolls for more information on cutting rolled doughs like this). Baking: Bake rugelach on light-coloured half-sheet pans (basic kind used in restaurants) lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies for 25 to 30 minutes until evenly browned and set in the middle. The bottoms should be a deep golden brown but not burnt. Storage: Store rugelach in an air-tight container for up to 1 month in a cool dry place. For longer storage, I recommend freezing them after baking and cooling completely. To freeze rugelach, place them on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan in the freezer until frozen solid, then transfer to a freezer bag (air removed). Defrost rugelach in the refrigerator overnight and then transfer to a container at room temperature. Make sure the cookies stay dry.