Apricot Pecan Rugelach
I’ve been baking up a semi-storm this week! Only 5 days until the big day! Whoa. I’m ready now. I mean there’s only so much one can do right? As long as we are all together, surrounded by family, life is good. Oh, and a table full of treats helps too!
I will be adding these cookies to our treat table this year! They are kind of a nice change from the cookies you find this time of year…and for some reason I don’t make them often enough.
But when I do make them, I am reminded of how much I like them, and how they aren’t really that hard to make. A little more tedious than some recipes, but sometimes I like the extra little challenge! Especially when that challenge is good for my taste buds!
So on to my recipe! Give them a try! If you love nuts and jams, these are for you!
–Apricot Pecan Rugelach
Ingredients
The Dough
- 2 1/3 cups flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter (at room temperature, cut into chunks)
- 1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese (at room temperature, cut into chunks)
- 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- one vanilla bean pod – scrape out the seeds in the centre
The Filling
- 2 cups pecans (see tips)
- 3/4 cup apricot jam (see tips)
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
The Dough
- In a bowl sift together flour and salt. Set aside.
- Cut up the butter and cream cheese into chunks, into a bowl to be creamed.
- Cream together until light and fluffy.
- Add the lemon zest, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds to the butter mixture. Combine well.
- Beat in the flour mix. Mix well.
- Work the dough into a ball, then split the dough into 2 balls.
- Flatten each ball into a 6 inch disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours.
- Now it’s time to make the filling…
The Filling
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then spread the nuts evenly out onto a cookie sheet. Toast the nuts in the oven for 6 to 9 minutes, or until lightly browned. Watch carefully, and don’t burn them!
- When the nuts are toasted, set them aside to cool. When they are cooled, using a knife chop them up.
- Then get out your food processor!! Use it to combine the chopped nuts, jam, honey and cinnamon. Combine until the pecans are coarsely ground.
Putting it all together!
- After the dough has rested and chilled for the required time, take out one disc at a time from the fridge – it’s time to roll it! (leave the other disc dough in the fridge until you are ready to work with it)
- Generously dust a clean work surface with about 2 tbsp to 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. (the more the better!)
- With a rolling pin roll the dough out into a 16 inch circle of even thickness. If the dough is too stiff, just knead it in your hands for a bit.
- Using half of the jam filling, spread it out evenly onto the dough, leaving about a 1cm space from the edge.
- Using a knife slice the dough first into 4 equal quarters.
- Then slice each quarter into 6 equal pieces.
- It’s time to roll the rugelach! For each wedge, start from the edge of the dough and roll to the centre.
- Roll, roll, roll until you have a cute little crescent!
- Then take each dough crescent, generously dust it with powdered sugar, and place on a cookie sheet. Space them about 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 14-18 minutes, until the tops start turning golden brown.
- Immediately remove them from the pan, and place them on a cooling rack.
- Generously dust them with powdered sugar again.
- Repeat all the above steps for the second disc of dough and the remaining filling.
— – –
Cut the butter and cream cheese into chunks, and put into a bowl to be creamed.
Putting it all together:
With a rolling pin roll the dough out into a 16 inch circle of even thickness. If the dough is too stiff, just knead it in your hands for a bit.
Using half of the jam filling, spread it out evenly onto the dough, leaving about a 1cm space from the edge, as shown above.
Using a knife slice the dough first into 4 equal quarters. Then slice each quarter into 6 equal pieces. It’s time to roll the rugelach! For each wedge, start from the edge of the dough and roll to the centre.
Roll, roll, roll until you have a cute little crescent!
Then take each dough crescent, generously dust it with powdered sugar, and place on a cookie sheet. Space them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 14-18 minutes, until the tops start turning golden brown. Immediately remove them from the pan, and place them on a cooling rack. Generously dust them with powdered sugar again. Repeat all the above steps for the second disc of dough and the remaining filling.
Tips!
- I used a mixture of half pecans and half almonds, but you could use any nut combination that you like. Walnuts, pecans or almonds are delish!
- And I bet you could use what ever jam flavour you like too! Marmalade, raspberry, strawberry!
- You can make the dough and the filling up to 2 days ahead! Yay! Just let the dough warm up a bit before rolling it out (about 20 minutes or so)
- And trust me, these are not as hard to make as they may seem!
Oh WOW! are you bringing some of these?? please please . . .
Mmmmm! My grandma made something similar to this when she was alive and they were SO yummy!!!