Chocolate Rugelach

Chocolate Rugelach Recipe

Chocolate in a Flaky Pastry Crust

The other day, I got a "chocolate roll" from a bakery in Prague.  It was a cheap snack that did not exactly hit the spot, being a very dry, slightly-burnt miniature croissant with some chocolate in the middle.  It reminded me, however, of chocolate rugelach.  Since a New York bakery is a long way a way, I figured I would make some for myself.

This recipe uses a dough adapted from Martha Stewart.


Ingredients
For the dough:
4 oz cream cheese (in the U.S.) or 125 grams (half a package) of soft tvaroh* (in the C.R.), room temp.
1/2 cup of butter, room temp.
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup of flour

Filling:
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons of butter, melted


*Tvaroh, which I have used before, is a soft cheese found easily in the Czech Republic.  I enjoy using it in my recipes instead of cream cheese because it is cheaper and, simply, something different.  To find something similar outside of the Czech Republic, look for quark cheese at a German specialty shop.

Make the dough:
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together cheese and butter until smooth.  Add sugar and beat until incorporated.  Add flour gradually while beating on medium speed.  A crumbly dough should form.  Using lightly-floured hands, gather dough into a ball.  Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

I am terrible at rolling dough out in a circle, so I use a plate for a template.  The extra dough can be re-rolled out.

Make the cookies:
Roll out the dough on a lightly-floured surface into a circle.  (If you are like me, you cannot make a shape even remotely circular, so roll it out as circular as possible and cut the edges into a circle.  The scraps from the edge can be rolled out again to make another circle.) The dough should be a quarter of an inch thick.  In order to make thin triangles, cut the circle with a sharp knife into sixteenths.  Spread each triangle with melted butter and sprinkle with chocolate.  Roll from the wide end to the small end, as you would a croissant.  Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F (170 C).  Remove cookies from refrigerator and bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.  Allow cookies to cool and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

-Colleen