Jammy Rugulah Recipes

Steps:

• Mix flour, baking powder, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 tsp. salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on low speed to combine. Add butter and beat until it is flattened into nickel- and dime-size pieces and dry ingredients look a bit like sand, about 2 minutes. Cut cream cheese into 8-10 pieces and add all at once to mixer. Beat until dough starts to clump together in pieces (but not so long that it forms one large mass) with pieces of butter and some cream cheese still visible, about 1 minute longer.
• Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide in half. Pat each into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic. Chill just until firm, 30-45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix together orange zest, nuts, jam, and remaining 1 tsp. salt in a medium bowl. Set filling aside.
• Working one at a time, roll out dough between 2 lightly floured sheets of parchment paper, dusting with more flour and turning over and rotating as needed, into 1/8"-thick ovals about 18x11". Spread half of filling over each oval, leaving a 1/2" border. Rotate dough so a long side is closest to you and roll up into a tight spiral, using parchment to help you lift it as you go. If dough is sticking, chill 5 minutes before proceeding. Chill rolled-up dough until firm, at least 60 minutes and up to 1 day (wrapped in plastic).
• Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 375°F. Finely grind raspberries in spice mill or with mortar and pestle. Transfer to a small bowl; mix in remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Brush tops of dough with egg. Sprinkle with half of berry sugar and cut into wedges 2" wide at the base and 1/2" wide at the point. Make each cut on a diagonal, changing direction each time so that short and wide ends alternate. Divide rugelach between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until deep golden brown, 28-34 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets, sprinkling with remaining berry sugar while still warm.
• Do Ahead
• Cookies can be baked 5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Steps:

• First, make pastry.
• Place flour in a bowl, and add cold butter pieces; using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour.
• Add cream cheese and also cut in.
• You can do the above in a food processor, if you don't wish to do it by hand.
• When butter and cream cheese have been cut in, knead with your hands until dough forms a ball (or process in food processor until mixture just forms a ball; don't over-process or dough will toughen).
• Cut dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and refrigerate (you can do this ahead of time, if you wish, and then make the cookies the next day).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place jam in a small bowl and stir it until it is spreadable.
• In another small bowl, combine the white sugar with the nuts and lemon zest.
• Remove one batch of dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface into a circle, at least 9 inches in diameter-- thinner/bigger is good, too, and will result in a crispier cookie.
• Spread half the jam over the circle, them sprinkle on half the nut mixture.
• Cut each circle into 12 wedges and tightly roll up each wedge, starting at the outside edge; bend/curve in each end so cookie resembles a crescent roll.
• Place cookies one inch apart on a cookie sheet.
• Repeat procedure with remaining dough, remaining jam, and remaining nut mixture.
• Beat the egg, and brush beaten egg on top of all cookies; sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Bake until cookies are golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool on racks; dust with sifted icing sugar if desired.

Steps:

• If using canned fruits: drain and save the liquid. Peel and remove seeds from the fresh fruit as necessary, cut fruit into bite-sized pieces.
• Combine all fruit in a glass bowl. Add the lemon juice, some of the liquid from the canned fruits or honey/sugar. Stir gently. There should only be enough liquid to coat the fruit; it does not have to be covered in liquid.
• Cover the fruit salad and allow it to stand at room temperature for a half hour before serving. The fruit salad may be refrigerated after it has stood up to an hour. It should be eaten the same day it is made.
• Garnish with freshly grated coconut or chopped roasted peanuts right before serving.
• NOTE: Eastern Africa's Saladi Ya Matunda is made without the lemon juice, coconut or peanuts; it substitutes sugar/honey for the liquid from the canned fruits.

Steps:

• 1. To make the dough: Place the margarine, cream cheese, flour, and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a mixer or food processor fitted with a metal blade or stand mixer with a paddle and mix just until dough comes together. You can also mix the dough together by hand with a wooden spoon in a large bowl.
• 2. Divide the dough in half and wrap each ball in plastic and flatten. Freeze 1 1/2 hours or overnight and then remove from freezer half an hour before using. The dough is ready to be rolled when you can press gently into it. If it gets too soft, put it back in the freezer to firm up.
• 3. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• 4. To roll out the rugelach, place a large sheet of parchment on the counter. Sprinkle some flour on the parchment, place one of the dough discs on the parchment, sprinkle again with flour, and then top with a second sheet of parchment. Rolling on top of the parchment, roll out the dough to 13 x 10 inches. Peel back the top parchment once or twice while rolling and sprinkle some more flour on the dough. Remove the top parchment but reserve for re-use. This portion of the dough is now ready to be filled with one of three fillings, or another filling of your choice.
• 5. After filling the dough, Fold the right and left sides (the short sides) of the dough 1/2 inch in toward the center to keep the filling inside. Using the parchment to help you, roll the long side from the top toward you, working slowly and rolling as tightly as you can.
• 6. Place the parchment you used on top of the dough when rolling it to line a cookie sheet. Place the loaf on the cookie sheet with the seam on the bottom and flatten slightly. Repeat for the other loaf.
• 7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top begins to brown. Let cool and then slice into 1-inch pieces. These can be frozen. I prefer to freeze the baked loaves and then slice them when ready to serve.
• Chocolate Filling
• Melt the chocolate chips on the stovetop or in the microwave, mixing often until the chocolate is smooth. Remove from heat, add cream, and mix well. If using pecans, place them in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Spread the chocolate mixture evenly on the dough all the way to the edges and then sprinkle with pecan pieces.
• Apricot and Cinnamon Filling
• Spread half the apricot jam or preserves evenly on the dough. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and then sprinkle half on top of the jam.
• Orange and Pine Nut Filling
• Spread the orange marmalade over the dough and sprinkle on the pine nuts.