Holiday cookie recipe: Sour cherry rugelach

Leah Koch of Los Angeles was one of the 10 winners of our first Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off with these sour cherry rugelach:

“In 2005, my mother died of ovarian cancer the day after Christmas,” she wrote. “We stumbled around in a fog for a few months, but before we knew it, it was the holidays again. This time, it was my father and me trying to fill the shoes my mother had left. While we bake these sour cherry rugelach, I am reminded of how much I miss my mom, but I’m also reminded of my dad’s incredible courage and devotion to his kids. The taste of sour cherry and buttery crust means that it’s December again and we’ve made it through another year, together.”

Sour cherry rugelach is one of the favorite holiday cookie recipes we’ve collected in our updated “Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookies” e-book. The cookbook now includes 65 recipes from a wide range of sources, from world-famous pastry chefs, favorite bakeries and home cooks. And check out the favorite holiday recipes we’ve collected in our “Los Angeles Times Holiday Handbook.” The book shares more than 110 seasonal recipes to help you celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s.

Each book is $4.99, and they are available at the Los Angeles Times bookstore for Kindle, Nook and iBooks.

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You can find Noelle Carter on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest. Email Noelle at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

Sour cherry rugelach

Submitted by Leah Koch of Los Angeles

Total time: 1½ hours, plus chilling time

Servings: About 5 dozen cookies

Dough

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

1 (8-ounce) package light cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2¾ cups flour

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until combined. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the salt, then slowly beat in the flour until thoroughly combined to form the dough.

2. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Flatten the pieces into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 1 hour.

Filling and assembly

3/4 cup sugar, plus more for dusting

1 (3½-ounce) package dried sour cherries, finely chopped (about 2/3 cup)

2/3 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

Chilled dough

1 egg, beaten

Coarse sanding sugar, for garnishing

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, chopped cherries, walnuts, butter, cinnamon and allspice to make the filling.

2. Unwrap one of the dough disks onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into an 8-inch square. Spread one-eighth of the filling (about one-fourth cup) onto the center of the dough with the back of a spoon, leaving about a one-half-inch border on the top and bottom of the dough.

3. Starting at the top, carefully roll the square into a tight roll like a jelly roll. Using a sharp knife, slice the roll crosswise into three-fourths-inch pieces, discarding the ends.

4. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining dough disks. Brush each cookie with beaten egg, then sprinkle with the sanding sugar.

5. Bake until rugelach are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Each of 5 dozen cookies: 101 calories; 1 gram protein; 10 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 6 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 18 mg cholesterol; 5 grams sugar; 58 mg sodium.