Almond Toffee Rugelach Food

RUGELACH

Steps:

• Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the raisins, and walnuts.
• On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons apricot preserves and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling lightly into the dough. Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges?cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

ALMOND SPICE RUGELACH

Steps:

• Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt in bowl; cut in 1 cup butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Cut in cream cheese until well mixed. Stir in sour cream until mixture forms soft dough. Form dough into ball. Cover; refrigerate 4 hours.
• Combine all filling ingredients in bowl; set aside.
• Remove dough from refrigerator; soften 15 minutes at room temperature.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheets; set aside.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces; form each piece into ball. Place 1 ball on lightly floured surface; flatten slightly. Roll into 9-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup filling mixture over dough; gently press into dough. Cut circle into 12 wedges with large sharp knife. Roll up each wedge tightly, from wide end to point, forming crescent. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
• Place crescents, point-side down, 1 inch apart onto prepared cookie sheets; curve slightly. Brush each crescent with beaten egg white; sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Bake 22-25 minutes or until light golden brown.

APRICOT-ALMOND RUGELACH

Steps:

• Dough: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, salt, and butter until butter breaks into pea-size pieces. Add cream cheese and process just until incorporated and a mass of dough is formed. Do not overmix or dough will be tough.
• Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead a couple times to bring dough into a cohesive mass. Divide dough in half and form two flat, round discs; wrap each in plastic and refrigerate for 45 minutes. (At this point, dough can be frozen for several months.)
• Filling: Lightly flour a work surface and a rolling pin, then roll one disc of dough into a 16-inch round (add more flour to prevent sticking). Evenly spread half the jam in a thin layer, stopping 1 inch from the edge of the dough. Sprinkle half the sugar over the top, followed by half the almonds.
• Assembly: Trim the outer edge of the dough to make a clean circle all around. Cut dough like a pizza into 12 triangles. Beginning at the wide end, roll up each triangle; place formed rugelach on parchment-lined sheet trays, pointed edge down. Repeat with remaining disc of dough. Freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Bake rugelach until golden, 25-35 minutes. Remove to a wire rack, let cool, and serve.

ALMOND TOFFEE RUGELACH

Steps:

• Remove pie crust sleeves from box, and let sit on counter for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Have two cookie sheets ready, lined with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon & sugar; set aside.
• Spoon the almond paste into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 10-15 seconds. Stir; add 1-2 tablespoons of water and stir again. If paste is still too thick, microwave again for about 10 seconds. Stir well & make sure the paste is spreadable, adding a little more water if necessary, but mixture should not be too thin or runny (it should look like thick mashed potatoes).
• On a lightly floured board, unroll one of the pie crusts and roll lightly with a rolling pin to even out the dough.
• Spread about half of the almond paste to within about 1/2" of the edge of the dough; sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, then sprinkle about half of the toffee bits.
• Cut the dough into 16 wedges with a pizza cutter (quarter the dough, then cut each quarter in half, and then half again).
• Roll up each wedge, starting at the wide end. Place cookie, point underneath, on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Brush each cookie with egg wash & sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Repeat above steps with the other roll of pie crust dough.
• Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove cookies onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

ALMOND TOFFEE

Steps:

• Line the bottom and sides of a 15x10x1-in. pan with foil. Grease foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside., In a large heavy saucepan, melt remaining butter. Add the sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 290° (soft-crack stage)., Pour into prepared pan. Cool for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand for 3 minutes. Spread melted chocolate evenly over candy. Sprinkle with almonds; press down lightly. Cool until chocolate is firm. Break into bite-size pieces. Store in airtight containers.

RUGELACH

Steps:

• Make the dough:
• Combine the butter and flour in the bowl of a food processor and process until the chunks of butter are broken up and the mixture has taken on the consistency of wet sand, about 30 seconds.
• Transfer the butter-flour mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the salt, cream cheese, and sour cream. Mix the ingredients together vigorously with your hands, breaking up the cream cheese and working it into the f lour with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly and only pea-size chunks of the cream cheese remain.
• Turn out the dough onto a sheet of aluminum foil, press it down slightly into a thick disk, and wrap it very tightly in the foil. Refrigerate it for at least 20 minutes or overnight. Meanwhile, make the filling.
• Make the cherry-almond filling:
• Combine the cherries, sugar, water, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat and simmer until syrupy, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and add the almond extract. Let the mixture rest until it's cool enough to handle. Place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor and process until crushed, about 10 seconds. Transfer the almonds to a bowl and add the reserved cherry mixture to the food processor; process until the mixture has a jam-like consistency, scraping down the sides of the machine as necessary. Add the almonds back in and process for a few seconds, until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. The filling can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• Make the chocolate-hazelnut filling:
• Combine all the filling ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until crumbly. The filling can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• Make the apricot filling:
• Combine all the filling ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Set the mixture aside until it is just cool enough to handle, then transfer it to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate the filling until it's completely cooled before using. The filling can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• Shape, fill, and bake the rugelach:
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 10-by-15-inch baking sheet with parchment paper, grease it with oil or cooking spray, and sprinkle it with a small handful of decorative sugar.
• Unwrap the dough and divide it into 2 equal-size portions. On a well-floured surface, press and work one of the dough portions into a ball, then press the ball into a disk that's about 3/4 inch thick. The dough will be very firm at first and may crack around the edges, so keep working it and bringing the cracks together until you have a smooth-sided disk, adding more flour as needed to keep your hands from sticking to the dough.
• Roll out the dough into a 10- to 12-inch circle of even thickness. Fold the circle into a half moon and use a knife or dough cutter to trim away any uneven or protruding edges, then unfold the dough so it's a circle again.
• If you're using the chocolate-hazelnut filling, brush a little of the egg wash over the dough. Use a spatula to spread a heaping cup of the filling of your choice evenly over the dough. Then use a dough cutter or pizza cutter to cut the circle into 16 equal-size wedges, just as you would a pizza.
• Then, working with one wedge at a time, roll a wedge up to make the rugelach, starting with the wide end and rolling toward the pointy end. Transfer the rugelach to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
• Brush the tops of the rugelach with the egg wash, sprinkle lightly with more decorative sugar, and bake, rotating the tray 180 degrees halfway through cooking, until the pastries are light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

RASPBERRY ALMOND RUGELACH

Steps:

• Spread jam evenly over pastry.
• Sprinkle with almonds.
• Roll up like a swiss roll.
• Cut each roll into 8 equal portions.
• Place each on a greased paper-lined baking tray 5cm apart.
• Brush with egg/milk mixture.
• Bake in 180 Degrees C oven for 25 - 30 minutes.
• Other variations instead of jam:.
• 1/2 cup chocolate spread (nutella) sprinkle with grated chcolate and chopped nuts.

CHRISTMAS ALMOND TOFFEE

Steps:

• Grease a 15x10x1-in. pan with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, melt remaining butter. Add sugar, slivered almonds, water and salt; cook and stir over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 295° (approaching hard-crack stage). Remove from heat; stir in vanilla., Quickly pour into prepared pan. Let stand at room temperature until cool, about 1 hour., In a microwave, melt 1 cup chocolate chips; spread over toffee. Refrigerate 45 minutes or until set. Invert onto an ungreased large baking sheet. Melt remaining chips; spread over toffee. Sprinkle with chopped almonds. Let stand 1 hour. Break into bite-size pieces. Store in an airtight container.