Apricot Rugelach

This recipe was inspired by my auntie.  It is a lightened-up version but is still decadent and delicious.
A wonderful recipe to celebrate the Jewish New Year!


Don't be intimidated by the length of the recipe - it is pretty easy, just follow it step by step.

Ingredients:
2 cups white all purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt
2 sticks salted or unsalted butter (yes! 2 -- can you believe it?)
8 oz light cream cheese
3 tsp ground cinnamon (separated)
Flour for dusting
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all fruit apricot preserves (that's the sugar free jam - I use Polaner brand - but whatever is your choice)
1/2 cup walnut halves finely chopped
4 TBSP white sugar
1/4 cup fat free milk for brushing

Instructions:
Using a fork or a whisk, mix the flour, salt and 2 tsp of cinnamon together.  Then with an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until it is combined.  Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture about 1/3 cup at a time and keep mixing and combining until you have all the ingredients combined and it has come together.  Flour the surface of your counter with a little dusting flour and tip the contents of the bowl onto the surface and knead with your hands just enough to form it into a cohesive dough ball and then roll it into a log and wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap.  Chill the dough for at least 4 hours (up to 24 hours) or until firm.

At this stage you are going to work fairly fast, especially if the kitchen is warm.  You do have to preheat the oven so you will be warming up the environment.  Set the oven temp to 350 deg F.  Make sure your oven rack is in the center of the oven.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat.

Mix the brown sugar, remaining cinnamon and chopped nuts together into a bowl and set aside.

Unwrap the dough and cut it into 4 even pieces.  Return 3 of them to the fridge while you work with the first one.  Dust your work surface really well with flour and then roll out a rectangle measuring about 12 inches wide by 8 or 9 inches long.  Make sure your dough is not sticking to the surface, if necessary add more flour to dust it.  Thinly spread 1/4 of the apricot preserve onto the surface of the dough - going all the way to the wide edges, but leaving about 1" of uncovered area at the long end - this is where you are going to seal it.  Then sprinkle 1/4 of the sugar & nut mixture on top of the preserve.  Brush the "nude" long end with milk to moisten and then roll it up like a long cigar and seal.  Place it carefully onto the baking sheet and place the baking sheet into the refrigerator.

Now continue making 3 more logs exactly the same.

When you have all 4 logs onto the baking sheet, making an indent, mark off 12 "cookies" at one inch intervals on the surface of each one, but don't actually cut the dough yet.  Now brush all 4 logs with the milk and sprinkle a tablespoon of white sugar on top of each log.  Take a fork and pierce each "cookie" with the tines of the fork at an angle about 2/3 of the way through (for decoration and to allow the steam to escape).  Now you can take a knife score each "cookie" with a deep 3/4" cut to make them individual cookies that are still joined at the hip!

Bake them until they are golden brown, will take approximately 45 minutes.  Cool them on the pan for about 30 minutes then you can slice through them to finally separate them from their siblings!

Yields 48 Cookies
2 PPV per cookie!

Warning - they're delicious - make sure the leftovers have a home to go to at the end of the festivities!