Ingredients

The following ingredients have 3 Servings
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Instruction

  • Start by making the dough. Put 2 Tbsp sugar into a small bowl, add in the zest and combine with your hands until the sugar is fragrant with the zest.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Mix in the sour cream and 2 Tbsp orange-zested sugar until well combined, about 1 minute. Add flour and use the mixer on low speed to carefully mix in or stir in the flour by hand until well blended. In both cases, be careful not to overmix or knead. Combine until the flour is just mixed in and the dough can be pulled together into a ball.
  • Divide the dough into 4 similar-size pieces, flatten each into a disk, wrap the dough pieces in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  • To make the jam, place cranberries, sugar, orange juice, zest and grated apples in a medium saucepan on medium heat and bring to a boil.
  • Maintain a low boil for about 10 minutes. Intermittently, you’ll hear the cranberries popping. Mix often to check for thickening. If the cranberries have not all popped and it’s getting too thick, add a bit of water or orange juice.
  • Taste for sweetness and flavor at 10 minutes and, if using, add the orange liqueur. Depending on the texture you prefer, use a wooden spoon or potato masher to break up some of the cranberries. Cook for another 5 minutes, take off heat and let it cool.
  • Make the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate, walnuts, cranberries, sugar and orange zest. Set aside at room temperature. (The filling can be prepared ahead of time by a few hours or even a day.)
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Get ready to roll the rugelach; the key is to get organized. Put your jam(s) into small bowls, and have a pastry brush ready to spread each jam. You’ll need flour available for dough preparation, a pizza or dough cutter and a ½ cup measuring cup at the ready for filling. Line cookie sheets with silicone mats or parchment.
  • Take one dough disk from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 10 inches in diameter and ⅛ inch thick.
  • Brush 2 Tbsp cranberry orange jam over the dough. Sprinkle a generous ½ cup of the filling mixture evenly over the jam and press down gently. Cut the dough into 12 triangles using a pizza or dough cutter. Gently but firmly roll up each triangle up starting at the wide end. Place the rugelach, with the pointed side underneath, on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Roll up the remaining triangles in the same manner and arrange them on the sheet, about ½ inch apart.
  • Brush each rugelach with a dab of the orange or citrus marmalade, then refrigerate the pan for 15-30 minutes before baking. This step helps hold their form when baking.
  • Repeat with the remaining dough, preserves and filling mixture; the rugelach will fit on three cookie sheets. You can comfortably fit about 18 rugelach per cookie sheet.
  • Bake up to two sheets at a time, switching the sheets after 20 minutes, for 35-40 minutes, or until the edges start to brown and filling starts to ooze a bit.
  • Once out of the oven, transfer the rugelach to a rack to cool for at least an hour.