In my family, rugelach are definitely a special occasion dessert. My mom will usually make them for the High Holidays, but that's about it. Even though (maybe because?) I love my mother's rugelach so much, I've never actually tried making them myself. I was very excited to try this recipe. I decided to go with the apricot lekvar and to halve the recipe, because it would be only my husband and I eating them.
Was anybody else confused by the amount of lekvar? By my calculation, the recipe required 2 cups of lekvar but because I was halving the recipe I only needed 1 cup. But then the lekvar recipe said the yield was 3/4 of a cup, so I decided to double the lekvar recipe. I think I ended up with at least 4 cups of lekvar. Maybe I misread it (I don't have the book with me right now to double-check), but 3/4 of a cup yield does not seem right. I ended up freezing the extra 3+ cups of lekvar. Does anybody have any ideas for what to do with it?
This recipe definitely took some work, but I split it into stages and didn't think it was too bad. I made the dough on Saturday night, made the lekvar and fillings and rolled the rugelach Sunday morning, and cut and baked the cookies on Sunday evening. The only thing I wasn't happy about it is that I wasn't able to roll them as tightly as I wanted to, and completely failed to get that pretty spiral pattern. I could barely get the edges of the dough to connect at all. My husband used to work in a doughnut shop, and he told me afterward that it would have worked better if I had only put the filling down the center of the dough, and had left more room on the edges. Oh well. Now I know for next time.
I definitely had some problems with the filling spreading - especially with the bottom batch which I baked on layered cookie sheets. The top batch, which I baked on layered half sheet pans, held up a bit better. That didn't stop me from eating one of these as soon as they came out of the oven, however. I was very excited, but after a few bites it seemed very, very sweet to me and I decided that these were only okay. I put some of the cookies in a Tupperware and froze the rest for later. The next morning I woke up, saw the cookies, and, before I could talk myself out of eating cookies for breakfast, found myself standing in my kitchen at 7am eating rugelach. And I loved it. When I thought about it, I realized that I had never eaten warm rugelach before. I think rugelach are definitely the kind of cookies that are best at room temperature. So, in conclusion, I'm definitely glad I tried this recipe and definitely enjoyed these, but I think I'm going to ask my mom for her recipe and see how it compares for next time!
Jessica and Margaret are our hosts for the week, visit their sites for the recipe. To see what everybody else thought of the rugelach, go here.
I agree that these are best at room temperature. I was also confused by the amount of lekvar. I made the prune one and I now have a life-time supply of the stuff! I was thinking of making oatmeal sandwich cookies or pizzelle sandwich cookies with it.
ReplyDeleteI also had a lot of lekvar remaining after we made the Rugelach. Since it is Purim I will make some hamantashen with the remainder of the apricot lekvar. It seems so much better than what I have purchased in can before.
ReplyDeleteCarol
I love the hamentashen and sandwich cookies ideas! The apricot lekvar is delicious, I think I could eat it with a spoon....
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree, room temperature is best for these cookies, and they might have found their way into my breakfast one day as well. I'm stating to think that several of us had the same problems you did: not getting the dough to roll the way I wanted and spreading of the filling. Oh, well, we live and learn!
ReplyDeleteLooking wonderful! Thanks so much for baking along this week! :)
ReplyDeleteI just guessed at the amount of jam. I think you nailed it as your rugelach look quite tasty.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think I need to tweak this a bit, too...your hubby had a great suggestion! Glad you enjoyed these, too~
ReplyDeleteI was really confused by the yield amounts on both lekvar recipes. I didn't make the apricot because I only had about a cup of apricots and the recipe said 2 or 3 cups. I probably could have made it with what I had, but I really do love the prune and am glad I made it. Yours look so delicious! I'm glad this gave you the opportunity to make rugelach for yourself. I think the key to getting a tight roll is to make sure your nuts and fruit are really small and so I actually put mine through the food processor a couple of times because the first batch it seemed like they were too large and I couldn't roll them (even the crescent shape) as tight.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't you - the proportions were definitely off on the lekvar. I make a half batch of both lekvars and still ended up with almost double with the qty stated for the full batch...
ReplyDeleteThe leftovers filling is great on toast! It would also be good used as a swirl for bread or as a pastry filling. Someone suggested serving it on a cheese board as well w/ crackers. You are super creative, I am sure you will find a great use for it!
I would eat the leftover apricot lekvar (so good!) out of the bowl with a spoon!
ReplyDeleteI had the same problem with the lekvar spreading out of the rolled cookie during baking and then it became tough like a fruit leather on the baking sheet which I peeled off the bottoms of my cookies. I prefer baking the rugelach in the crescent shapes spread with jam which I know is sweeter but I think makes a more tender cookie. Some of my rolled cookies opened up in the oven and some stayed together better, they were hard to roll because of all the filling, I think. I found this rugelach to be delicious, especially love the cream cheese dough. Not as crazy about the baked lekvar and won't make that again;-)
I'm glad I'm not the only one who had trouble with the lekvar proportions! It's delicious, though, I'm looking forward to using it up. I love the cheese board idea, thanks!
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