Ruggelach pinwheels

Making those pecan pie ruggelach for Thanksgivukkah a few days ago got me thinking about these ruggelach pinwheels I made a while ago (pre-JulieBakes!).  It was this heavenly delicious cream cheese ruggelach dough spiraled with a raisin, brown sugar-cinnamon-sugar, walnut filling and apricot jam.  But they don't stop there....then you slice them, dip them into a sugar-cinnamon mixture, and then bake them.  They are delicious!  And that means a lot coming from me, since I really don't like nuts in my baked goods, especially walnuts.  Ew.  But in these cookies, they just....go.  Perfectly.

I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which I know I've spoken about before, because I absolutely adore the website.  I even recently bought the Smitten Kitchen cookbook, but I'll save that review for a little while later.  But when I saw this recipe about 4 years ago -- pre-JulieBakes -- I made it and they were an instant success.  And of course after I made these delicious cookies, I got an idea for another version.  Then I thought that maybe I wouldn't try and alter the recipe a little, and make a Thanksgivukkah version, because these cookies are just so freakin' good as they are, and there is really no reason to try to make a pretty perfect thing better.  But there is just some part of me that knows I'll probably be making another version of these pretty soon.  So if I were you, I'd be on the lookout soon for that ;-)

 

 

And FYI, you can see these cookies on the very first JulieBakes blog post.  Spot them on the gold plate on the front of the dessert spread!

Ruggelach Pinwheels
Original recipe from SmittenKitchen

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sifted bleached all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup golden raisins, chopped
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup apricots preserves, heated and cooled slightly.  I remember that I needed more last time I made them, so I made sure to have a little extra on hand in case I needed.

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
Add sugar and continue processing until fully incorporated.
Add flour and pulse just until dough comes together.
Divide dough into 2 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make filling.
In a medium bowl, mix together granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts.
Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
My tip: roll the dough between two floured pieces of parchment paper.
BEFORE going any further, slightly flour the up side of dough and transfer the rolled out dough onto a piece of saran wrap by flipping it over (the floured side will now be down.
Spread a thin layer of preserves over dough, I use a pastry brush to make sure it is evenly distributed.
Sprinkle with filling mixture.
Roll dough into a log beginning with one of the long sides.  This is where the dough being on saran wrap helps.  The dough is pretty soft by now, and rolling can be a little bit difficult.  UNLESS its already on the saran wrap.  You can use the plastic wrap to aid in rolling, making sure that the roll is tight (less filling lost later), and it makes it much easier for the next step.
Wrap rolled dough in plastic wrap.
Transfer dough log baking sheet.
Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
Place dough logs in refrigerator; let chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping; set aside.

Slice chilled dough logs crosswise, about 1/4 inch thick.
Toss each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place cookies 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes.
Lift parchment paper from baking sheets and transfer to a wire cooling rack; let cool.