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Reformed Rugelach (Yield: 60 pastries)
(Harriet Roth’s “Deliciously Healthy Jewish Cooking: 350 New Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol, Low-Sodium Recipes for Holidays and Every Day” )
Cream Cheese Dough
:2 ½ cups of unbleached a.p. flour
8 oz. (2 sticks) butter-flavored light margarine, chilled, cut into small cubes
1 (8 oz.) box light cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, chilled, cut into small pieces
2 tsp. orange juice (optional)
1/3 cups sugar
1 T. (or more) ground cinnamon
Fillings:
1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
2/3 cup raisins OR
1 bag mini-size chocolate chips
To prepare dough:
1. Place flour in a food processor and add the chilled margarine pieces and process with pulsing action until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the chilled cream cheese and orange juice and process very briefly until the dough starts to hold together. (You may need to knead it briefly before shaping to ensure the cream cheese is blended in.)
2. Shape the dough in plastic wrap – touch as little as possible because the warmth of your hands starts to melt the dough. Divide dough into 5 equal portions and flatten each portion into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and place in a plastic bag. Chill 4 hours or overnight before using. The dough may also be frozen 4-6 weeks for future use.
- To prepare Rugelach:
1. Mix the sugar and cinnamon thoroughly. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the mixture on a clean work surface. Roll out a dough disk into a 7” x 12” rectangle about 1/8” thick, directly on the cinnamon sugar. (Flip it over periodically to get the cinnamon sugar on both sides of the dough.
- 2. Divide the nuts and raisins or the chocolate chips into 5 portions. Sprinkle the rolled out dough with one portion of each and press in with floured hands or rolling pin.
- 3. Roll the dough tightly, jelly-roll style, and make sure the seam is on the bottom. Cut into 12 slices, or about 1 ½ inch pieces.
- 4. Place rugelach on a non-stick baking sheet coated with butter-flavored cooking spray. Refrigerate 30 minutes before baking, or freeze and bake at a later date. OK to skip the refrigeration – it still works out.
- 5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
NOTES: 1. You can also use real butter and cream cheese, but it obviously ups the calories and fat content, and makes it non-reformed rugelach. 2. You may also roll the dough into a circle, put on the filling, and cut into wedges which are then rolled up from the wide end into the pointed end. Place point side down on the baking sheet, and keep the raisins inside the dough so they don’t burn. Bake as above
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