Honey-Nut Rugelach Holiday Cookies

My friends, today I am sharing a recipe that was my very first post here on the blog. In addition, it was a guest blog post for Bob’s Red Mill. I was thrilled when they reached out to me in the spring of that year to develop a special gluten free holiday recipe for their customers and readers using Bob’s Red Mill products. I had such fun in “the lab” creating the special blend of gluten free flour used in making these delectable, chewy-flaky pastry-cookies. No one will ever know they’re gluten-free! I promise.

Since I am a big supporter of the gluten-free community, my focus was creating a gluten-free version of my original recipe for Honey-Nut Rugelach, a popular and well-loved holiday pastry-cookie. The article I wrote, Honey-Nut Rugelach: A New Twist on a Holiday Classic, appeared on Bob’s Blog on December 10, 2012. (NOTE: The post has since been moved to Bob’s new blog, Inside the Mill. However, the original post has been preserved in PDF format via InternetArchive.org and now resides here on my site via the link above.) Today’s recipe is for the traditional version made with regular all-purpose wheat flour with an option for gluten-free.

Ingredients
For the Cream Cheese Pastry:

• 1 cup (2 sticks/226 grams) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1 (8-ounce/226-gram) package cream cheese, slightly softened
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract, such as Nielsen-Massey®
• ¼ teaspoon (1.25 grams) kosher salt
• 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour, such as King Arthur Flour®
• Extra all-purpose flour for rolling dough

For the Honey-Nut Filling:

• 1¼ cups (150 grams) finely chopped walnuts (or pecans)
• ¾ cup (150 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons (63 grams) honey

For the Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) light cream (half and half) or whole milk
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine-quality ground cinnamon, such as Penzey’s

Directions

• Prepare the Pastry: Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese. Beat in sugar, vanilla and salt; mix until well combined. Add flour in two batches beating just until incorporated. Scrape dough onto sheet of plastic wrap using rubber spatula and form into a ball; divide into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion of dough by patting out into either small 5-inch disks (for crescents) or small 4- by 6-inch rectangles (for roulades). Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Prepare the Filling & Topping: In a medium bowl, combine walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add honey and stir with a fork to incorporate and finish mixing with finger tips; set aside. Pour cream or milk into a small prep bowl or cup; set aside. In a small prep bowl or cup, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
• Get full instructions : wickedgoodkitchen.com

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