It’s Tuesday, and that means it’s time for my next installment of Tuesdays with Dorie. The recipe of the week was The Rugelach That Won Over France. I made them as part of the spread for my daughter’s birthday party this past weekend.
Rugelach consists of a tender dough made from cream cheese that bakes up similar to a puff pastry. The dough is rolled with any number of fillings. This recipe has us roll the dough with a filling of coconut, toasted nuts (I used almonds), chocolate, and dried cherries. Dorie has us roll the dough like mini cinnamon rolls and then slice and bake it.
Like others mentioned in the P’s & Q’s, I had a little trouble with this recipe. The rugelach were hard to slice without the dough cracking and the filling spilling out. Also, the 400° oven temperature seemed too high and some of mine were over-cooked. For a second batch I lowered the oven temp to 350°, and they turned out much better.
I had heard that Dorie has a very similar recipe in her book Baking: From My Home to Yours. I checked it out and found that her method of filling and rolling the dough was different: more like a crescent roll. Also, the baking temp was 350°, so I wonder if it’s a typo in the new book? The rugelach and the filling were good enough that I would try these again using the techniques from Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Despite their messy appearance, the rugelach were a hit! The party guests cleaned the platter and exclaimed how good they were. Can’t ask for more than that!
If you would like to see if this is “the Rugelach that wins over you”, you can find the recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s newest book, Baking Chez Moi.
From Scratch 
They look wonderful and that little snowy bit on your blog is cute for the season. 🙂 I wondered about dropping the temperature as well but then it seems like pastry type things like this always require that high temperature, you’ve given me something to investigate as to whether it needs that boost to get those layers we like in pastry. A lot of people have commented on that high temperature.
I haven’t had a chance to jump into BCM yet. I love rugelach but I’ve never made it myself. Now I know which recipe to try. If your guests cleaned the platter, I probably will too!
Almonds sound like a fabulous substitution – so good with chocolate and cherries. I can imagine how delicious they must have been!
These look so lovely, proper Christmassy! 🙂
Wow, they look great. Love the wintry feeling going on with your blog right now.
Happy birthday to your daughter. I don’t think the temperature is a typo because she has you freezing the dough before cooking. I also did the baking instructions from Baking From My Home to Yours and it worked perfect. I skipped the freezing and all that. Happy Holidays.
I’m so happy your daughter’s birthday party was a success. Clean trays are definitely the best compliment a cook or baker can receive.
I think they look wonderfully delicious! So glad everyone enjoyed them! Happy Birthday to your daughter!