Roll On, Rugelach

Until recently, rugelach (pronounced ROO-gelah) were a well-kept secret of regular shoppers at Jewish bakeries. But now you see rugelach for sale in gourmet food shops, in fancy mail-order catalogues, even at Starbucks.

Like strudel, blintzes and cheesecake, rugelach originated in Eastern Europe. Jewish bakeries and delis in many American cities made these delicacies well known in the United States, causing them to become associated with Jewish cooking.

But many people wonder: Are they cookies? Pastries? Actually, they’re sort of both.

They’re made of pastry and are served like cookies with coffee, tea or milk. Some rugelach look like mini-croissants. Others are cylindrical in shape, rather like miniature pains au chocolat (made from croissant dough with a chocolate filling). In fact, rugelach have a lot in common with croissants--they are rich, tender and flaky.

But rugelach have an important advantage over croissants. They are very easy to make. There’s no waiting for a yeast dough to rise, no folding in butter or worrying about the dough melting as you roll it out. The cream-cheese dough for rugelach is made in a minute or two in the food processor. It is easy to handle and simple to roll. It even behaves better than pie pastry--it doesn’t crack during rolling.

Unlike classic croissants, rugelach always have a filling. The traditional filling is simply “sprinkles”--you scatter chopped nuts, cinnamon, sugar and raisins over the dough. With rugelach’s new popularity, many filling variations have been developed, and now rugelach come in such flavors as chocolate, strawberry, apricot, cheese and raspberry.

Best of all, rugelach are bite-sized, which-- in theory --means they’re easier to enjoy without guilt.

TRADITIONAL RUGELACH WITH CINNAMON-WALNUT-RAISIN FILLING

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Dough

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup dark raisins, chopped

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Divide refrigerated Cream Cheese Dough into 4 pieces. Press each portion into ball, then flatten. Roll into 9-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Sprinkle 1/4 of sugar-cinnamon mixture (about 2 tablespoons) all over circle, then sprinkle 1/4 of nuts and 1/4 of raisins near outer edge of circle. Press with rolling pin so filling adheres to dough.

Using heavy knife, cut circle into 12 wedges, making each cut with sharp movement of heel of knife. Tightly roll up each wedge from wide end to point. Be sure filling is enclosed (raisins can burn if exposed). With points of triangles facing down, place cookies, 1-inch apart, on lightly buttered baking sheets. Curve each to crescent shape, if desired. Refrigerate while shaping more cookies. Refrigerate all at least 20 minutes before baking. (Unbaked cookies can be frozen.)

Bake at 350 degrees 22 to 25 minutes or until light golden. Cool on racks. Makes 48 small cookies.

Note: Cookies may be kept 3 or 4 days in airtight containers or frozen.

Cream Cheese Dough

6 ounces cream cheese

1/2 pound cold unsalted butter

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon water, optional

Cut cream cheese into tablespoon-size pieces and soften at room temperature. Cut butter into 1/2 tablespoon-size pieces and keep cold until ready to use.

Combine flour, salt and butter in bowl of food processor and process with on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cream cheese and sour cream, evenly distributing over mixture. Process with on/off turns until dough just holds together. Add water if necessary. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, press together into ball and flatten to disk shape. Refrigerate 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Note: Use bar-type cream cheese for making dough, not soft kind designed for spreading.

CHOCOLATE CHIP RUGELACH

Cream Cheese Dough for Rugelach

1 cup minisemisweet chocolate chips

Divide refrigerated Cream Cheese Dough into 4 pieces. Press each portion into square shape, then flatten. Roll into 9- to 9 1/2-inch square. Trim edges. Cut into 3 equal strips, then cut each strip into 3 pieces to make 9 squares.

Spoon 1 teaspoon chocolate chips on each square, about 1/2 inch from edge nearest you. Spread chips in row along edge. (Chips should be as close together as possible but in single layer.) Fold over edge of dough nearest you to cover chips. Tightly roll up dough, jellyroll-fashion, toward other side until dough resembles thin cylinder. Cut each cylinder in 2, with heel of heavy knife.

Place cookies on prepared baking sheets and refrigerate while shaping more cookies. Refrigerate all at least 20 minutes before baking. (Unbaked cookies may be frozen.)

Bake cookies at 350 degrees about 22 minutes or until light golden. Cool on racks. Makes 72 small cookies.

Note : Cookies may be kept 3 or 4 days in airtight containers.