COCOA NIB AND CURRENT RUGELACH
Makes 48 cookies
Rugelach at its best is a wondrously flaky, yet unbelievably foolproof
little horn of pastry pretending to be a cookie. There are various
fillings, of which I have always loved the classic, cinnamon, nuts and
raising, best. So, when it turned out that nibs are also good with
raisins (or currants), I had to make room for a new favorite.
For the pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, each stick cut into 8 pieces
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, chilled, cut into 8 pieces
For the filling:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown or golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup roasted cocoa nibs, finely chopped into small bits. I like the Ocumare in this. The fruitiness goes well with the currents.
1/2 cup dried currants
To make the pastry: Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor
and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the butter
pieces are about the size of bread crumbs. Add the cream cheese and
process until the dough begins to clump together, about 30 seconds. Turn
the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into 4 pieces. Press each
piece into a flat patty about 4 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap,
and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat
the oven to 350 degrees F. LIne two cookie sheets with parchment or wax
paper or aluminum foil.
To make the filling: Mix the sugars, cinnamon, nibs and currants together
in a medium bowl.
Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out between two
pieces of wax paper into a 12-inch circle a scant 1/8 inch thick.
Peel off the top sheet of wax paper and place the paper on a counter or
cutting board. Flip the dough onto the paper and peel off the second
sheet. Sprinkle a quarter of the filling over the dough. Gently roll
over the filling with a rolling pin to press it into the dough. Cut the
dough into 12 equal wedges like a pie. Starting at the wide end of one
wedge, roll it up and place it, with the dough point underneath to prevent
it from unrolling, on one of the cookie sheets. Repeat with the remaining
wedges, placing them 1 1/2 inches apart.
Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. (If at any time the dough
becomes too soft to roll, return it to the refrigerator to firm up.)
Bake, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway
through the baking time, for about 25 minutes, or until light golden brown
at the edges. Set the sheets on racks to cool completely. (The rugelach
are best on the day they are baked, but they can be stored, airtight, for
about 5 days.)
Source, Medrich, p. 314-315.
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