Joan Nathans Rugelach Cinnamon Chocolate Or Apricot Food

JOAN NATHAN'S RUGELACH (CINNAMON, CHOCOLATE, OR APRICOT)

Steps:

• To make the dough, place the cream cheese and the butter in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Cream at a low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and salt and mix until a very soft dough is formed, about 2 more minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with baking parchment (or a Silpat baking mat).
• Mix the ingredients for the apricot or chocolate filling and divide the dough into 4 balls. On a lightly floured surface roll the balls out into 4 circles about 1/8-inch thick and 9 inches in diameter. Spread the apricot or chocolate filling over the dough. If using the cinnamon-sugar filling, brush the melted butter on first, then sprinkle the combined cinnamon and sugar.
• Using a dull knife, cut each circle into 16 pie-shaped pieces about 2 inches wide at the circumference. Roll up from the wide side to the center. Place the rugelach on the lined cookie sheets. Bake in the oven on the middle and lower racks, switching after 12 minutes, also switching back to front. Continue baking about 13 more minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the rugelach to racks to cool.
• Sprinkle the apricot and chocolate rugelach with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

AYLENISH RUGELACH WITH ORANGE, WALNUTS AND CINNAMON

Steps:

• Soak raisins in rum and 1/2 cup very hot water. In a medium bowl, combine both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts and a pinch of salt. Drain raisins (discard soaking liquid) and mix them into sugar mixture. In a saucepan, melt marmalade until runny. Remove any large chunks orange peel.
• Cut about a 4-ounce piece of puff pastry and roll out on a floured board into a rectangle, about 17 inches by 7 1/2 inches. The pastry should be thin and supple enough to drape, but not so thin that holes start to appear when rolling.
• Brush a 2 1/2-inch-wide stripe of marmalade down the long center of the rectangle. Sprinkle marmalade with filling and fold top edge down over filling. Brush the top of filled section with marmalade and sprinkle marmalade with filling. Fold bottom edge up over the filling to make a kind of flattened roll; do not press. Cut in half crosswise and refrigerate rolls for 20 to 30 minutes, or freeze for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees; use the convection setting if you have it. Cut rolls across into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Place slices, seam side down, on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or nonstick liners. Brush tops with egg yolk and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and puffed. Let cool slightly before removing to a cooling rack. Meanwhile, repeat with remaining pastry and filling. Store at room temperature in layers separated by parchment paper, in airtight containers.

ITALIAN PLUM TART (JOAN NATHAN)

Steps:

• To make the crust, pulse the flour, sugar, and butter or margarine together in a food processor until crumbled. Then add the egg yolk and pulse until the dough comes together.
• Place the dough in the center of a 9-inch pie plate and with your fingers, dusted with flour if needed, pat it out to cover the bottom and up the side. Refrigerate for a half hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and pre bake the crust for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 375 degrees and bake another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• Mix the jam with the brandy in a small bowl and spread over the crust. Peel, pit and cut the plums in four pieces each. Place around in a circle so that each piece of plum overlaps the other and they eventually form a spiral into the center.
• Sprinkle with the cinnamon and lemon rind.
• Reduce the oven to 350 degrees. Return the taste to the oven and bake about 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the plums juicy. Remove the tart from the oven, sprinkle on the sugar, and serve.