I thought I knew how to make rugelach.
I’ve only been making them since I was shorter than the countertops and helping my Mom bake them every year for Christmas. Which means I’ve made them a minimum of oh . . . two dozen times??? Yet . . . there I stood in my kitchen staring at the little recipe card, my brain all a fuzz.
Hi, Mom? I’m making rugelach and I’m trying to remember if it matters which particular kind of cottage cheese I use? Full fat? Low fat? Small curd?
Oh, hun. I don’t remember. (She’s only made them . . . what . . . four dozen times? Maybe it runs in the family.) I’m pretty sure we don’t use low fat and I’d probably buy the smallest curd they have.
Ok, thanks! Running to the store! Love you, bye!
There is no such thing as “full fat” at the grocery store, so I buy the 2% cottage cheese, since it’s the one with the most fat. More fat = better dessert. Right? Small curd. I make it back to the kitchen with all the goods and get going . . . only . . . wait . . .
Hi, Mom. Sorry to bug you, again. All my recipe card says is mix. (Stellar note takers, aren’t we?) Blender? Beaters? Food processor? Did we beat the cottage cheese first to break up the curds?
Ummmm. . . . I’m pretty sure I use the beaters. I don’t remember if we break up the curds. Maybe? You could!
Erm. Well, I was thinking about using the food processor.
That’d work!
Okay. Thanks, Mom!
Yep. Definitely runs in the family.
Fortunately, everything came out perfectly, and I tested out a delightful apple butter rugelach for you guys. Do you guys still call your Mom when you’re baking? Pretty sure I’ll be doing it forever.
Apple Butter Pecan Rugelach
I’m not really sure where my family went awry, but we always called these pastries “meltaways.” Only as an adult did I realize that most people know these flaky, buttery “cookies” as rugelach.
Rugelach uses a shortcrust pastry similar to pie pastry mixed with some form of mild cheese in place of the ice water–traditionally cream cheese! This is a rugelach recipe without cream cheese, because my family always made rugelach with cottage cheese! The pastry dough comes together so easily in the food processor that you’ll be able to pop them out in no time and fit your favorite re-run in during the chilling times.
We traditionally made rugelach with a cinnamon sugar filling, but because I am THIS anxious for Fall to be here, I decided on an apple butter pecan rugelach. But you can pretty much wrap anything up in pastry and call it a win! Would it be overkill to start working on a pumpkin spice rugelach???
mikaela | wyldflour
24 Rugelach
Apple Butter Pecan Rugelach! Flaky, buttery pastry with an apple butter and cinnamon pecan filling.
1 hr, 30 Prep Time
20 minCook Time
1 hr, 50 Total Time
Save Recipe5 based on 2 review(s)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
- 1 cup all-purpose flour + extra for rolling out
- 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese, small curd
- 1/2 cup apple butter (homemade or store-bought works!)
- 1/3 cup pecan halves
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- turbinado or demerara sugar for sprinkling
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
- 1 teaspoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and roast for 2 minutes. (Watch carefully to make sure they don't burn!) Remove from the oven and pulse the nuts in a food processor until very finely chopped. Add to a small bowl and set aside. (It's up to you whether to leave the oven on--you'll need it again in about 40 minutes. I usually just leave mine on.)
- Slice the butter into the food processor, add the flour, and pulse until pebble-sized crumbs form. (Just like you're making pie dough.) Add cottage cheese and pulse a few times. Then blend until the dough just comes together and starts to wrap around the blade. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just 2-3 times in order to fully bring the dough together. Form the dough into a big ball and divide into two equal parts. (I weigh mine to make sure they're exact, but this isn't necessary.) Shape each part into a disk about an inch thick, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Add brown sugar and cinnamon to the pecans and stir until mixed. Set aside. Measure out apple butter into a bowl and set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Generously cover a surface with flour and roll out one of the dough disks into a 9 1/2-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Spread half of the apple butter over the circle, all the way to the edge. Sprinkle half of the pecan sugar filling over the entire circle. Use a pizza cutter to cut the circle into 12 "pie" slices. (See picture above.) Starting at the outer edge, roll up each slice and place point-side down on the baking sheet. (It's important to tuck the point underneath, so that it doesn't un-roll in the oven.) Once you've placed all 12 rugelach on the baking sheet, refrigerate for 30 minutes. (If your baking sheet doesn't fit, you can place them on a plate and chill them before moving them to the baking sheet.) ***You can skip this refrigeration step and they still taste great. The chilling just helps the pastry be extra flaky.
- While the first batch chills, roll out the second pastry disk and repeat, using the remaining filling. Chill the second batch.
- Lightly beat an egg with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Remove the first batch from the refrigerator and brush each with egg. Sprinkle with turbinado or demerara sugar and bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are starting to brown. Remove from the oven and immediately move to a cooling rack. Repeat with the second batch.
- Once the rugelach have completely cooled, stir the icing ingredients together in a small bowl. You want the icing to easily, slowly run off the tip of a fork. If you need to add additional milk, start with 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Drizzle the icing across the rugelach and let set. Store in an airtight container on the counter.
Notes
Feeling the pumpkin spice bug? Swap the apple butter for pumpkin butter!
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