Saffron & Cherry Rugelach
Ingredients
10-15 saffron strands
1 8oz block of cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup dried cherries
2/3 cup cherry or a berry jam [for this recipe, I used a cherry, rhubarb, blackberry jam]
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons milk
Demerara sugar [optional]
Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 3 hours & 3 minutes
Servings: about 30-35 Rugelach
*Rugelach will last about a week on the counter, a few weeks in the fridge & can also be frozen for future enjoyment, both dough & fully-baked pastries.
Steps
Boil some water on the stove. Then, in a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon boiling water with 10-15 saffron strands & let them bloom for about 5-10 minutes. Then, strain out strands from the saffron water. You will use half of the saffron water [1.5 teaspoons each] for the dough & for the filling.
In a large bowl, mix together room temperature cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, half of the saffron water & salt until smooth.
Next, add in the flour & cold, cubed butter until butter is completely broken down & crumbly.
Divide the dough into 3 equal rounds, pat down into a disk, cover in parchment paper & let them chill in the fridge for 3 hours.
Meanwhile, make your filling. In a small pot, cook dried cherries in 1/4 cup water and the remaining saffron water for about 5 minutes. Take off heat & let cool.
Once the cherries are cooled, pour into a food processor with the jam, cinnamon, allspice & a pinch of salt. Pulse until a thick paste forms. Transfer filling to a bowl & cover in the fridge until dough is ready.
Once dough is ready, let the dough sit out on the counter to come to room temperature for a few minutes. On a floured surface, roll out each dough disk into an 8-9 inch round. If the dough is cracked on the edges, don’t worry. you can use a sharp knife to cut off the scraps & smooth out the edges. After you have rolled out a round, place it back in the fridge & roll out the next one.
Spread about 1/3 of the filling on each round, keeping about a 2 inch distance from the edges & a 2 inch hole in the middle of the rolled out dough. Using a sharp knife, cut each dough round into 12 wedges. If you have extra filling leftover, it will keep in the fridge for weeks as a spread for toast!
Roll each dough wedge tightly together, starting at the wide end of each wedge. Some filling might spill out but that’s okay.
After a round is rolled into Rugelach, place back in fridge as you cut & roll out the next batch. Leave the rolled out Rugelach in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
Once Rugelach are chilled, pre-heat the oven to 350 [F] degrees & line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray them down with non-stick baking spray.
Brush Rugelach with milk & sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake Rugelach for 30 minutes or until cooked through & golden brown. Halfway through baking, rotate trays.
Once Rugelach are done baking, let cool on a baking rack & enjoy!