Nutella Rugelach Food

NUTELLA RUGELACH

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour.
• Remove from bowl, and divide into 3 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.
• In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.
• Preheat the oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Spread evenly with nutella (it may help to have the nutella a bit melted so it doesn't tear the dough while spreading). Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture. Gently press ingredients into dough with your fingers.
• Cut the round into 16 equal-sized wedges (triangle shaped like pizza slices). Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg white. Bake until golden brown, 25 minutes.

NUTELLA CREAM CHEESE RUGELACH

Steps:

• Cream the sugar with the butter and cream cheese.
• Blend in the flour, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla extract.
• Stir to make a soft dough, adding a little flour as necessary if dough is too sticky.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and pat into a flattened disk.
• Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 to 60 minutes or overnight.
• (Food processor method: Use the steel knife and place the flour, salt, cocoa and sugar in the work bowl. Drop in the butter and cream cheese in chunks. Process until ingredients blend and dough forms a mass or ball (this may take a minute or two). Remove from processor and sprinkle on a little flour to keep dough from being too sticky. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 to 60 minutes or overnight.).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Divide dough in half. Roll each portion into a 10-inch circle on a well-floured board.
• Be careful as dough is delicate.
• Spread chocolate filling on dough, then sprinkle on sugar, cinnamon and nuts.
• Roll up each edge into a miniature crescent. If using jam, spread on jam, then sprinkle on sugar, cinnamon and nuts.
• Brush with beaten egg white.
• Bake until done - about 25 minutes.
• Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

CHOCOLATE SEA SALT RUGELACH

Steps:

• Combine the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the cubed butter, distributing it all over the top of the dry ingredients, then dollop in the cream cheese (1-inch dollops should do it, but it doesn't need to be perfect). Turn the mixer on low speed and mix until the mixture is mostly mealy and there are still some larger clumps of butter and cream cheese intact. With the mixer still running, add the egg yolks, vanilla and almond extract, if using, then continue mixing until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 discs. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring constantly, or in a microwaveable bowl in 30-second increments, stirring after each. Set aside to cool briefly while you roll out the dough.
• Beat the remaining whole egg with a splash of water for an egg wash. Roll out a dough disc on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as needed to prevent it from sticking, until it is a wide rectangle, 18-by-9-inches. Use an offset spatula to spread half of the chocolate over the dough in a thin even layer, leaving a 1-inch border along the long edge that's farthest from you. (Try to work kind of quickly so the chocolate doesn't harden.) Brush the border with a thin layer of egg wash. Starting on the long end closest to you, roll the dough into a long, tight log, then place it seam-side down on a cutting board or baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days (depending on fridge space, you might want to cut the log in half so you're dealing with four shorter logs instead of two really long ones; wrap in plastic if refrigerating for longer than 1 hour).
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Brush the logs with a thin layer of egg wash, then sprinkle with a few pinches of flaky salt and a ton of sprinkles or sanding sugar. Cut into 1 1/2-inch slices and transfer to the baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Bake until golden brown on top, about 24 minutes. (You might notice that the cookies seem to sweat and leak out some fat while in the oven; this is completely normal.) Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, or enjoy them warm! Fully cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.

CHOCOLATE-NUT RUGELACH

Steps:

• Pulse cocoa, brown sugar, kosher salt, baking powder, and 2 1/2 cups flour in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until largest pieces are pea-size.
• Beat egg yolks, sour cream, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth. With the motor running, stream sour cream mixture into food processor and process until dough forms a ball around the blade. Turn out dough onto a surface and knead several times until it is smooth and homogenous. Divide in half and form into 3/4"-thick disks. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
• Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350°F. Let 1 disk of dough sit at room temperature until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, shifting often on sheet and dusting with more flour as needed to keep from sticking, to a 12" square. Using a small offset spatula, spread half of Nutella over dough in a thin layer. Sprinkle half of nuts, 1 Tbsp. demerara sugar, and 1/2 tsp. sea salt over Nutella. Roll up dough to make a log, using parchment paper to help. Repeat with remaining dough, Nutella, nuts, 1 Tbsp. demerara sugar, and 1/2 tsp. sea salt.
• Slice logs 1" thick and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2" apart. Brush tops with egg and sprinkle lightly with more sea salt. Bake rugelach until centers are set and tops are firm to the touch, 25-30 minutes; let cool.
• Do Ahead
• Dough can be made 1 month ahead. Freeze.