Sour Cream Rugelach (Mock Danish)
Most people approach coffee or tea and an accompanying treat in one of a few ways. Either you are (a) the dainty sip-and-nibble sort, (b) the expedient bite-and-gulp variety or (c) an eat-first, wash-it-all-down-later type.
Where we converge is in agreeing that the ritual of the coffee break or tea time makes the mundane marvelous.
Always a welcome pause, the coffee or tea break is a poor man’s or woman’s urban jungle Club Med, a virtual oasis unlike anything else in our jam-packed lives.
Best of all, it is a ritual that calls for the best in homey little treats. Miniature cheesecakes, delicate scones, buttery rugelach, lavishly swirled marble cake are just some delights that are perfect for a coffee hour recipe collection.
All are easy; none is cloyingly sweet or heavily frosted. These are wonderful just warm from the oven or even a day or two later. This is the type of baking that is solidly rooted in the home kitchen.
So bake a batch of something and brew a pot, then sit back and anticipate that small endorphin rush. Second cup is on the house.
Place flour, sugar and salt in bowl of food processor, and place cut-up butter on top. Pulse to cut butter into flour until mixture is grainy and mealy. It doesn’t matter if the mixture is a little uneven. (If doing by hand, break butter into flour using fingertips.)
Stir yeast, dash of sugar and water together in small bowl to dissolve yeast. Add to flour mixture, along with sour cream, 2 egg yolks and extracts. (Reserve egg whites for glazing.) Process mixture just until it forms a ball, 8 to 10 seconds. (By hand, stir to make sticky mass.)
Divide dough into 2 sections. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 20 minutes or overnight.
On lightly floured board, roll each dough section 1/8 inch thick, then trim into 12-inch circle. Smear each with 1/4 cup warmed apricot jam, then half of brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon. Cut into 12 wedges and roll from wide side to point into crescent shapes. Beat egg whites and brush crescents with them. Lightly sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar. Place on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper and place in 375-degree oven. Immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake until medium brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
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