Rosh Hashanah is coming soon, and luckily it is a bit late this year. I always appreciate the years that I don’t have to pull my kids out of school on the 1st or 2nd day of the school year. So, since I have a bit of free time on my hands (ha!), here is a little recipe that I created as a mash-up of my 2 favorite recipes from The Great Holiday Baking Show last year- my Rugelach and my Salted Bourbon Raisin Caramel Apple Pie. I will be teaching a group of women this recipe in Massachussetts next week and can’t wait to share this one!
Many people are intimidated by making rugelach from scratch, and it really needn’t be daunting. I like making this simple, quick dough in the food processor. It really only takes a minute to throw together. First, add your flour, powdered sugar, and salt to the processor and pulse to combine. Then add cubed cold butter and cream cheese to the mixture. Process and pulse until a coarse consistency dough forms, and starts to pull away from the edges of the bowl (3rd photo). Divide dough into 2 balls. Roll out each dough ball into a thin, 9 inch circle. I like to do this between 2 well floured pieces of wax paper or parchment. Stash discs in the fridge for at least 15-20 minutes, but even overnight is fine.
Now, the filling: You can definitely make your own caramel, like I did on the show. This Bourbon caramel was Mary Berry’s favorite thing I made (I think). She kept coming back between shots and grabbing a spoonful of it!
So, the alternative to making caramel is buying a good quality salted caramel from a jar. That is what I did today. Smuckers makes a nice, affordable one.
In a small food processor, combine nuts (optional), caramel, and apple butter. Add a tablespoon of bourbon. Process well until smooth and spreadable. You will see fine bits of nuts, and that is okay. Spread 1/2 filling in a very thin layer with an offset spatula, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Repeat with other dough disc and the rest of the filling.
Now, I like to divide this into 12 wedges. You could do 16, if you would rather have smaller cookies, or 8 if you want to have large ones. Here is how I cut my rugelach, using a pizza wheel.
Then, I roll each wedge up as if it were a crescent roll. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown at edges.
Now you have some options. You could just sprinkle these with powdered sugar and call it a day. Or you could make a caramel drizzle. Here’s how you do it:
Combine powdered sugar, a bit of your caramel (homemade or store bought), some salt, and thin it with milk or cream until it is a thick drizzling consistency. If too thin, add more sugar. If too thick, add more cream. Easy peasy! Now, transfer the mixture to a ziptop bag, snip the very edge of cone corner, and drizzle over the cooled rugelach.
Voila! At this point, you could sprinkle with a little sea salt (very sparingly) or even sprinkle a bit more chopped nuts. Really, whatever you want works. Enjoy!
Salted Caramel Apple Rugelach
For the dough:
1 cup flour, plus additional for dusting
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces cream cheese, cold
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
honey-bourbon caramel (optional, or buy salted caramel from a jar):
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoons butter, sliced
1/4 cup heavy cream
1-2 tablespoons bourbon
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
For filling (per 2 rounds):
1 tablespoon bourbon
1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, finely ground
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup of prepared caramel (from recipe above or jar)
For icing drizzle:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup caramel (from recipe above or jar)
1-2 tablespoons milk or cream to thin to desired consistency
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make the dough, combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large food processor. Pulse to combine. Add cold butter and cream cheese to processor, and pulse until dough begins to form a ball and pull away from sides. Divide into 2 equal pieces. Sprinkle parchment paper and top of dough with approximately 1 tablespoon of flour each, to prevent sticking. Roll out both dough balls to 9 inch diameter circles. Leave on parchment and place in fridge until firm. Can be done ahead.
To make the caramel sauce, in a medium-sized saucepan, bring sugar, water, and honey to a simmer without stirring. Let mixture boil until it becomes caramel in color. Immediately turn off heat and whisk in butter, vigorously. Add cream, bourbon, and salt. Whisk well until smooth. Set aside in clean bowl. Can be done ahead and refrigerated. Prepared salted caramel sundae topping can also be used, if desired. Just add 1-2 tablespoons of bourbon if using jarred caramel.
To make the filling: Combine all filling ingredients, mixing in a small bowl with whisk or spoon or process in a small food processor. Divide, using half to spread on top of each dough round.
To assemble: Spread chilled dough with a thin layer of the filling, leaving a 1/4 inch border around the edge. Using a pizza wheel or knife, cut dough in quarters. Then, cut each quarter into thirds. Starting at the outer edge, roll each triangle into the center to form the rugelach. Place on parchment lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden at edges. Let cool.
In a small bowl, whisk together the icing drizzle ingredients, adding milk until desired consistency is achieved. Place in a piping bag or plastic zippered bag and snip one corner with scissors. Drizzle in back and forth motion across cooled rugelach.
Let dry for 10-15 minutes to set icing.
