Rugelach with Apricot Preserves

Over Spring Break I did a lot of baking and cooking and one of the recipes I tired was homemade rugelach. I was watching the Foodnetwork and Ina Garten made these very delicious-looking rugelach cookies. Rugelach in general is very similar to mandle bread  (recipe posted below). The dough is very rich because it is made with cream cheese and the nuts and jelly really spice it up. It was fun to roll out the dough and cut it into triangles in order to roll them up into the traditional shape of rugelach. My whole family loved them and all the cookies were gone in 3 days.

Rugelach with Apricot Preserves

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temp

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temp

1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 9 tablespoons

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup apricot preserves, pureed in a food processor

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and airy. Add 1/4 cup granulates su

gar, salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, wrap each piece in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, raisins and walnuts.

On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9 inch circle. Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons apricot preserves and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filli

ng lightly into the dough with the rolling pin. Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges- cutting the whole circle into quarters, then each quarter into thirds. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Noodle Kugel

One of my favorite homemade jewish foods is noodle kugel. After eating and trying many different noodle kugels over the years from family members and friends, I finally made my own this week. I started with a traditional recipe that my mom gave me and changed a few things, such as using light brown sugar instead of all white sugar. Also, I don't like the taste of raisins in this dish so I left them out.

Noodle Kugel

10 oz extra wide egg noodles

4 eggs

24 oz container 4% milkfat cottage cheese (I used small curd)

1/4 to 1/2 cup granulated white sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 stick unsalted sweet cream butter, softened at room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil a pot of unsalted water. Cook the noodles until still slightly crunchy, about 4 to 6 minutes. Drain pasta.

While the noodles are boiling, combine the cottage cheese, sugars, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add the drained noodles to the cheese mixture and mix until the noodles are evenly coated. Pour into a greased 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish. Cover the entire dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour covered. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes until the top noodles are a light brown color and crunchy.

Aunt Diane's Mandle Broit

This recipe has been passed down through my mom's side of the family. It started with my great aunt Diane (probably from her mother), was passed down to my mom and now to me. This is probably one of the first desserts I learned to make while growing up. This recipe is a traditional mandle broit (bread) recipe with jelly, nuts and cinnamon in the middle. The cookies themselves are something you shouldn't feel guilty about eating because the dough is made with oil!

Aunt Diane's Mandle Broit

2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
2-2 1/4 cup flour
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
cinnamon
jelly (I always use apricot preserves)
chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Beat eggs in a large bowl (a mixer is not required). Add the sugar, oil, flour, baking powder and vanilla to the eggs and mix until a smooth dough forms. It should be firm and not stick to your hands. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour. Divide the dough in half and use your hands to shape the dough into balls (this makes it easier to form into logs on the baking sheet). Shape each ball into a log that extends the length of the sheet using your fingertips. Now flatten each log by using your palms to a width of about 3 to 4 inches. Add as much jelly as you like, evenly spreading it on the flatten dough (make sure to concentrate the jelly in the middle and do not spread it out to the edges). Add the chopped nuts. What I normally do is make one log with nuts and one without for those in my family who do not like nuts. The last ingredient is cinnamon; sprinkle it over the jelly and nuts. Now the logs must be reformed by pulling up the sides of the dough so that they meet in the middle. Pinch both sides of the dough closed so no holes are visible or else the jelly will bubble out them during baking. Once both logs are formed, sprinkle the tops with more cinnamon and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the logs cool for 15 minutes. Slice the logs into good sized cookies, about 1 inch in width. Flip the cookies onto one side, so the jelly middle is facing up and sprinkle with even more cinnamon. Bake for another 5-10 minutes until desired crunchiness.