Rogelach

Most people have come to refer to rogelach as that delicious cream cheese and butter pastry bite, filled with cinnamon, sugar, jam and nuts. Today, we’re going to talk about yeast rogelach. Hmmm…I saw that you surreptitiously reached for the Tylenol bottle when you read the word yeast. I’m here to tell you that yeast is your friend and these are going to be the most delicious rogelach ever!!

Rogelach

These rogelach are bites of a delicious flaky yeast dough that surround a sweet cinnamon or chocolate filling. They’re topped with a sprinkle of sugar to add a lovely crunch to every mouthful. The recipe is from a wonderful cookbook no longer in print entitled, Welcome to my Kitchen by Sandra Ruben Temes, and I’ve been making them to great acclaim for the last 40 years. (I had a really nice mother who let me bake when I was 2 years old…just kidding). So let’s get started.

After dissolving the yeast in gently warmed almond milk that was sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar, I set it aside and combined the flour, sugar and salt in the food processor. I pulsed it about 5 times to combine and cut up two sticks of margarine into 8 pieces each and added it to the bowl. I pulsed the mixture until it looked like coarse meal. (You can see small pieces of margarine in the flour. This is good! Those unmixed in pieces are going to make your dough very flaky!!)

I emptied the mixture in the food processor into a large mixing bowl and added 2 beaten eggs and the dissolved yeast mixture. Then I mixed everything by hand with a fork to make a shaggy dough.

I wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerated it overnight. Art cannot be rushed so don’t even think about rolling it out before it rests. 

The next day, I divided the dough into five pieces. After liberally flouring my pastry board and dusting the rolling pin with flour, I rolled out the dough into a circle (ish) about 1/8 inch thick.

I spread 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil on the dough with my fingers and covered the dough with my cinnamon and sugar mix generously. 

Now’s your chance to sprinkle on raisins if you want. Slice the dough into 8 pieces and roll up each rogelach from the wide edge to the pointy end.

I let the rogelach rest covered with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray for 1-1 1/2 hours at room temperature. They don’t puff up but they do start looking relaxed.

I egged each one of the rogelach and sprinkled on coarse sugar (I used Lantic raw sugar. Turbinado sugar is also great)

I preheated the oven and baked them for 16-18 minutes. 

Now pull up a chair, make yourself a nice cup of tea and enjoy! You’re worth it.

Print Recipe

Rogelach

Cookies, Cakes and Desserts

By Sandra Ruben Temes, Welcome to my Kitchen, with some changes – Serves: 40

Prep Time: 60 minutes – Cooking Time: 18 minutes – Total Time: 78 minutes

The best rogelach you have ever eaten! A melt in your mouth flaky yeast dough with a delicious cinnamon filling. Every bite is a taste of home.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (you can use instant yeast as well)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup warm almond milk (body temperature) or dairy milk (any percent fat is fine)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter
• 2 eggs, beaten slightly
• Filling
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of oil
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• rasins to taste
• Topping
• 1 egg, beaten slightly
• coarse sugar (such as raw sugar or turbinado sugar) for sprinkling on top of rogelach before baking

Instructions

1

Dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm almond milk or dairy milk. Stir to mix in the yeast and let stand for 10 minutes. Bubbles should appear.

2

Combine flour, sugar and salt in the food processor bowl. Pulse the mixture 5 times to mix. Cut margarine or butter into 16 pieces and add to the food processor bowl. Pulse about 20 times until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Dump the food processor contents into a large mixing bowl and add 2 beaten eggs and the dissolved yeast and almond milk or dairy milk mixture. Mix with a fork until a shaggy dough forms.

3

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

4

The next day remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 5 sections.

5

Using one section at a time, roll out dough on a well floured counter or pastry board until it is in the shape of a circle (approximately) and 1/8 inch thick.

6

Spread 1/2 tablespoon of oil on the circle of dough.

7

Divide the circle of dough into 8 sections. Sprinkle the dough with the filling mixture and raisins if desired. Begin to roll out the rogelach from the widest edge towards the pointy center.

8

Place each rogelach on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

9

Let rest for 1 to 1 1/2 hours before baking. The rogelach do not puff up but do certainly look more relaxed after resting (wouldn't you?)

10

Gently brush each rogelach with a beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar right before baking.

11

Preheat the oven to 350 F. When the oven is preheated, bake each pan of rogelach for 16-18 minutes. They should appear to be a lovely light golden brown color when done.

12

These rogelach freeze beautifully in an airtight container.

Notes

These rogelach can also be filled with chocolate hazelnut spread and mini chocolate chips for a taste of chocolate heaven. Please note that I made these rogeach non-dairy because of dietary concerns. They can be made using milk and butter and you will not regret it!

This recipe is sure to become a much requested family favorite.