This is my second try at  Rugelach.  It was a bit easier this time.  I’m not saying it’s easy, just that it goes a bit smoother the second time around.  There are multiple steps involved in making rugelach.  I think it actually works in quite well with a busy schedule because each step can be completed in an evening after work and then set to rest in the refrigerator to wait until the next evening.  My first attempt at rugelach was with the BWJ group, here’s the link to that post.  I took that first batch to work and weeks later someone said that it was so good that they had actually dreamed about it!  It was good, but it wasn’t very pretty.  I didn’t get that reaction when I took this batch to work, but it disappeared from the staff lounge in short order.   I didn’t freeze the rolls before cutting them.  I just rolled them and left them in the refrigerator over night.  They sliced just fine the next morning.  The recipe says to bake them seam side down which leaves the cut sides exposed.  I wondered if it would work to stand them up like that, but it worked just fine.  The only other change I made to the recipe was to cut them 1 inch thick instead of 1/2 inch thick.  Otherwise I followed the recipe as it was written.  The filling ingredients need to be finely chopped because the dough is very thin and fragile.  My chocolate pieces were too big and some poked through the dough as I was making the rolls.

I liked this recipe, but I think I like the filling ingredients I used for BWJ better.  I have a second batch of dough chilling right now that I am going to fill as I did for BWJ — apricot levar,  pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, dried Calimyrna figs, jumbo raisin medley (Trader Joes brand) and dates.

We don’t post the recipes in order to encourage you to purchase the book, Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan.   Get a copy and join in our baking fun.   To see what the other bakers did with their rugelach check out the links they left on the Tuesdays with Dorie blog.