Lior: “Near the house in Israel where I grew up, there was a bakery that sold tiny rugelach, filled with chocolate or cinnamon and soaked in sugar syrup, and the smell was divine. When I lived in the United States, I soon realized that although you can find rugelach in many bakeries, it’s not really the kind you find in Israel – the first rugelach I ever ate In the United States, they were made from crispy cookie dough filled with cheese or jam. At first I thought it was a special version of the bakery, but later I found out that these are simply American rugelach. I think the Israeli rugelach are the most delicious, and when I published my recipe book, intended for an American audience, I decided to include a recipe for them.”
Lior added a little twist to the classic Israeli version – she seasoned the dough with cardamom, which gives it warmer, deeper flavors and adds cookie crumbs to the filling, which helps them hold up.
Here is the zoom workshop with Lior , that was run in Hebrew.
Ingredients for Chocolate Rugelach
- 3 teaspoons (13 grams) Dry yeast
- 1 cup (250 ml) milk room temperature
- 3½ tablespoons (40 grams) Sugar
- 2.8 oz (80 grams) butter melted
- 3½ cups (500 grams) bread flour
- pinch Salt
- 1-2 tablespoons ground cardamom to taste
- 1 egg
For the Filling:
- 5.6 oz (160 grams) butter room temperature
- ¾ cups (80 grams) Cocoa Powder
- 1⅓ cups (160 grams) confectioners' sugar
- 3.5 oz (100 grams) Petit-Beurre cookies, or cookie crumbs
- pinch Salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup Nutella or any other chocolate spread that you like
For Shaping:
- egg beaten, for egg washing
For the syrup:
- 1 cup (200 grams) Sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
Instructions
Prepare the Dough:
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1. In a stand mixer bowl fitted with the kneading hook attachment, put the yeast and milk and mix well. Add the sugar and butter and mix until a uniform texture is obtained.
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2. Add flour, salt and ground cardamom and stir until a dough forms.
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3. Add the egg and continue mixing for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and separates from the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, wrap in plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Prepare the filling:
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4. Put all the filling ingredients in a mixer bowl with fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until a smooth paste is obtained.
Roll out, Fill and Bake:
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5. Heat the oven to 355F (180C) degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment papers.
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6. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and roll into a square a little less than a ¼-inch (1/2 cm) thick. Using a offset spatula or knife, spread the filling evenly on top of the dough.
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7. Fold the dough in the form of an envelope: the upper part - fold down, so that it covers about two-thirds of the dough; the fold the lower part up, so it covers the fold of the upper part completely.
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8. Roll out the dough again to a thickness of about .4 of an inch (1 cm), and fold again in the same way, this time from the sides: fold the right side of the dough inward so that it covers about two-thirds of the dough; fold the left part of the dough to the left, so that it covers the folded right side.
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9. Roll the dough into a rectangle a little less than a ¼-inch (1/2 cm) thick and about 7.5"x15" (20x40 cm) in size.
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10. Using a sharp knife or a pizza roller, cut the dough crosswise, into 2 long strips, about 4"x15" (10x40 cm) in size. Cut each strip into triangles about 2"x4" (5x10 cm) in size.
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11. Brush each triangle with egg wash, and roll it from the wide edge up to the narrow part. Arrange the rugelach on the baking sheet, with the point (the seam line) facing down.
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12. Cover the rugelach with a towel, and let it rise for an hour.
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13. Brush the rolls with egg wash and bake for about 15-20 minutes until deep golden.
While the rugelach are baking, make the syrup:
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14. In a small saucepan, boil the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, and set aside.
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15. Remove from the rugelach from the oven and brush generously with the sugar syrup.