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These rugelach were inspired by a recipe in the Bais Yaakov II Cookbook. Although the process did take 2 hours, most of that time was hands off. The recipe is actually simple, as proven by my 15 year old grandson, a novice baker extraordinaire, and by my husband, who tried his hand at baking during this time of quarantine. Both were successful, and the rugelach are totally delicious. We made the cinnamon version, but we are exploring additonal filling recipes, including chocolate. One important tip: This recipe makes a huge amount of dough. If you do not need 90+ rugelach at one time, freeze the remaining dough balls. Wrap the balls in plastic and place them in the freezer in an air tight zip top bag.
Ingredients
Dough
2 Tablespoons instant yeast
1 3⁄4 cup warm water
8 cups flour
3 eggs
1 and 1⁄2 cups oil- any flavorless oil such as safflower or canola
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Filling:
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1⁄2 c. brown sugar
1 Tablespoon. vanilla sugar
1/2 cup additional oil for spreading on top of dough
Optional: 1/4 cup raisins, 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water- for brushing tops of rugelach when ready to bake
Directions
Dissolve yeast & warm water in a small bowl. Gently whisk, and let rest 5 minutes until dissolved & bubbly. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, add flour, eggs, oil, sugar and salt.
Mix on low speed until combined. Add yeast mixture. Mix on medium speed until smooth - about 3 minutes. (The consistency is similar to a soft dough). You can use a dough hook for this part.
Cover and let rise about 1 hour, until doubled. Then divide into 6 similar size balls/disks.
Cinnamon Filling: Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside
Assembling
Preheat oven to 350 °
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. set aside..Working with one ball at a time, roll out the dough into a very, very thin 14 inch circle. The thinner the dough, the better. Brush on canola oil, and spread filling over oil. (We like a generous amount of filling) Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12-16 triangles, just like cutting a pizza. Starting with the wide end, roll and place each rugelach on prepared baking sheet, making sure the point ends up at the bottom. Cover with a cloth, and let rise an additional 1⁄2 hour. Brush with the beaten egg/water mixture.. Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Repeat with remaining dough Or wrap remaining balls of dough and freeze. Makes about 8 dozen rugelach.
Notes
There are many delicious fillings for rugelach. We will be sharing additional filling recipes as soon as we test them, (and taste them of course)!