HANNAH BW

What a round number.

The wrap up from Israel: I had a great piece of cheesecake at Confiserie and a great falafel at Dr. Sa’adia. I ate the latter on a bench on King George V St. Strange to me that these benches just hang around looking at traffic. I made good use of it.

pickles on a bench

Then I came back and, embracing my Jewish heritage, made a load of rugelach.
Recipe inspired by this post.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened

Cream the cream cheese and butter together. Add the flour and salt, mix until it holds together. Form into two flat discs and refrigerate (or put outside on your patio in the -7º C weather).

Fillings: I did two types (call me crazy!). Dark chocolate, dried cherry, walnut, and raisin walnut.

Here’s what you do: chop your fillings til pretty small. Divide each disk in half and roll out til pretty thin (1/8″ ish) and rectangularish (so now you have four rectangles). Spread each sparingly with apricot jam–about 1 1/2 tbsp per rectangle–and sprinkle with toppings. Then sprinkle with about 1 tbsp of cinnamon sugar. Roll up, brush with milk, sprinkle with a little more cinnamon sugar, and make cuts crosswise about 3/4″ deep. These cuts will be a guide for where to slice the cookies later on. Bake at 375º for about half an hour, or until golden and crispy and not soggy on the bottom. Let cool, then slice through and eat.

rugelach!