Tuesday, December 9, 2014

The Rugelach That Won Over France : TWD

It's the third bake at Tuesdays With Dorie (TWD), from Baking Chez Moi (BCM) cookbook by Dorie Greenspan. With the festive Christmas just round the corner, The Rugelach That Won Over France is the popular choice selected by BCM's bakers. That's a rather long name for a rugelach. But then I can understand why it is named as such. According to Dorie, one year, while she and her husband was on a flight, her husband offered some of these rugelach to the French flight crew, and they were treated like loyalties for the next seven hours! Obviously these rugelach has certainly won over the hearts of the crew! Well, if you've tried one of these, you would too! These were so yummy!


The Rugelach That Won Over France

These were the best looking of the lot, out of the batch that I've made. To view "distorted" ones, scroll down below! (big grin!).

The dough was pretty difficult to handle, but I've expected that, as I've made the Rugelach recipe from Dorie's other book, Baking From My Home To Yours, here. I've reduced the amount of butter and cheese, but the dough was still sticky. In our hot and humid weather, it is always a challenge when handling pastry such as this! 


The flour, cream cheese and butter is mixed in the food processor, just until large curds form. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, shape into a ball, divide it in half, wrap in cling wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Roll the dough into a thin 12" square, divide into half. Mine was definitely not a straight square, I rolled it between two sheets of plastic. The dough was soft, sticky and I got to refrigerate it until it was firm, about 20-30 minutes. 

The filling is made up of sweetened shredded coconut, pecans, semisweet chocolate (I've used chocolate chips), and raisins.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, brush some melted butter over it, sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon-sugar, place the filling on one half with borders all around, roll it up snugly. I have problem with rolling them up snugly. With our hot and humid weather, the dough has turned soft, sticky and difficult to roll. Did the best I can and wrapped the logs individually in plastic wrap, keep in freezer for at least an hour. 
I actually left them in the freezer overnight. The next morning, took them out , brush one log with some beaten egg and attempted to slice them, according to Dorie, "slice and bake directly from the freezer." It does not work, at least mine did not, the dough breaks into little crumbles. So I left it resting on the kitchen counter for about 10 minutes, when it has soften a little. Sliced them with a serrated knife, and the dough was too fragile, and breaks easily. I did not want to refrigerate them again, so I just carry on with the slicing,and I did not bother brushing the top of the other 3 logs with egg wash because the stickiness got worse with the first one when I applied the egg wash. 
Bake the slices until the rugelach are golden brown. 


There, my "distorted" rugelach! LOL! I've got to bake them these rugelach longer than the recipe states, takes about 22 minutes, till they are brown. 


These are the best-looking ones! Despite how they look, these are really yummy! The whole lot was gone on the next day, even the crumbs! I would probably attempt these again when I am up for a challenge.


To view the other bakers' take on these yummy cookies, stop by TWD.



and I'm sharing this post with 

Cook-Your-Books

21 comments:

  1. Doesn't matter how they look as long as they are yummy! I hate to think what mine would look like if I tried!

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  2. I had a lot of distorted ones as well! But you're right, they were yummy anyway!

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  3. I didn't freeze mine at all since Dorie indicated that it was only to make them "easier to handle". The refrigerated logs sliced up great. They still dropped some filling on the pan though, which I dutifully ate.

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  4. You are right, these were yummy, no matter the shape. As I commented in someone else's blog, I kept adjusting the size of my plate to get one that fit well with the cookies that managed to stay upright...no matter, they were all eaten with the same amount of pleasure. Yours do look lovely.

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  5. This is a favorite dessert of mine. It brings many good memories along with it too. xo Catherine

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  6. Joyce, I can't imagine making these in a hot and humid kitchen but I'm glad you enjoyed them! They are delicious regardless of appearance.

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  7. Mine would not hold together after sliced, so I had a lot of sad looking cookies. All were consumed with haste, however. Yours "best-looking ones" are lovely.

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  8. Hi Joyce , these look deliciously yummy and a must try . Thanks for sharing :)

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  9. Hi Joyce,

    Nevermind if they are "distorted"... as long as they are delicious!

    Zoe

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  10. i love chocolate and coconut together and the idea of adding in the sweet chewy raisins makes me smile. It looks divine and I love love the dough:)

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  11. They are one of the best X'mas cookies! Thanks for sharing, Joyce.

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  12. Joyce, here we may have to make rugelach in a cold room or walk-in-freezer!

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  13. I'm in the desert and never even considered how humidity would effect these-very interesting. I do think this dough is very temp sensitive and can vary a lot based on freezers and weather. I found mine stood up better when slicing thicker but honestly, if the crumbs are gone you've got a winner.

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  14. Your rugelach looks delicious, Joyce! Sorry these caused you so much trouble. I took several hints from the P&Q’s…and did not freeze! These were quite good and a winner with my family!

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  15. These sound delicious, no matter what they look like! :)

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  16. I didn't have any trouble with this dough--but then I'm in Rochester, NY where it is cold and my kitchen is probably no warmer than 68 degrees F. Usually I roll the dough on a board, but this time I rolled it right on my counter and that may have helped. Your cookies look great--even the distorted ones.

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  17. Your rugelach look so perfect in the final photo! And more like mine in the second last photo. Glad to know I'm not the only one who didn't find that theirs turned out perfectly! Albeit deliciously!

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  18. Your cookies looked awesome in the last photo! And more like mine in the second last photo. Glad I'm not the only one with issues with this recipe. Although they were delicious!

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  19. I think they look delicious. Next time I make these I am not going to freeze the dough, I think it works out
    better.

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  20. I'm sure they are delicious! I'm a sucker for rustic looking cookies and treats.

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  21. I love that you showed both pictures! We have to be truthful about our experiences right!? I posted my pound cake that stuck terribly too...makes the posts fun! I think yours turned out great.

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