White Chocolate Almond Rugelach with Vanilla Raspberry Sauce

Christmastime may as well be synonymous with the word "cookie." It seems like every baker, every family and every culture has its own special cookie that the holidays would just not be complete without.

My mother-in-law makes her Italian pizzelles every year. She makes oodles of them, so we freeze them and eat them straight out of the freezer for months! Steve's grandma and great aunt both make amazing cookie trays with all kinds of Italian delicacies like knot cookies and strufoli. The ladies in my family join me in a small-scale cookie swap every year {and I'm not gonna lie, most of the time they buy their cookies, but it's still just as fun!}, and I usually get creative with trying out new recipes.

My cookie? Biscotti. I make tons and tons {and tons} of them, wrap them up and give them as gifts to family and friends. It's biscotti madness for, like, 3 days in my kitchen. We'll see how that works out this year with a tiny tot strapped to me.

Anyway, the point is, when it comes to cookies, we may have our favorites but we're open to letting new ones in on the holiday fun.We don't discriminate. If it's delicious, it's welcome.

These cookies might just have to make an appearance this year. So. Good.

They're Dorie Greenspan's Rugelach with a Dianna Muscari twist. I filled these beauties with chopped almonds, white chocolate and a sprinkle of brown sugar. And because it never hurts to go over the top, I made a delightful Vanilla Raspberry Sauce to go along with them.

Rugelach dough is shockingly simple. Made with butter, cream cheese, flour and salt, it comes together to make the flakiest yumminess you can imagine. You can fill rugelach with whatever your heart desires, though I highly recommend trying this white chocolate almond combo because it worked really, really well.

What are you favorite kinds of cookies for the holidays? Does your family have a special kind of cookie that makes an appearance this time of year?

Be sure to give these cookies a try... they may just become a new family favorite! 

Disclosure: I received a copy of Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook, Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere as well as product coupons and compensation for this post. As always, the opinions expressed here are all my own!

White Chocolate Almond Rugelach with Vanilla Raspberry Sauce
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere

4 oz. cream cheese
8 tablespoons {1 stick} butter
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
Heaping 1/3 cup white chocolate chips or white chocolate bar, chopped
Pinch of cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
{Optional} Sanding sugar or granulated sugar

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer {or alternatively in a blender equipped to make dough}, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add flour and salt and mix {or pulse} until a pebbly, clumpy mixture begins to form.

2. Scrape dough from bowl and press together to form a ball -- divide it in half. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Pat dough into 2 square shapes and wrap well. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, several hours or overnight.

3. When the dough is firm, place one square onto a well-floured surface and roll out to about 12 inches square. Cut square in half -- you should have approximately a 12x6 inch piece. Brush all over with melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar.

4. Carefully sprinkle with 1/4 of the chopped almonds, white chocolate and cinnamon leaving a small border around the dough. Press down lightly to help it stick.

5. Starting from the non-cut side, carefully roll {jellyroll style} up the dough, then flip seam side {the side with the neat cut edge} down. {Some of the filling may fall out the ends. Just do your best!} Wrap rolled up log in plastic wrap and place in freezer until firmed up a bit {30 minutes to an hour}. Meanwhile, repeat the process with rest of the dough and filling.

6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment or a silicone baking sheet. Set aside. Using a sharp or serrated knife, cut approximately 1 inch pieces from roll and place {seam side down} onto baking sheet.

7. Whisk together egg and water in a small bowl. Brush egg wash over each piece and sprinkle tops with sugar.

8. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown on the tops. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly {about 15 minutes} before removing from pan.


For Vanilla Raspberry Sauce

1 pint Driscoll's Raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Blend berries in a blender or food processor until smooth.

2. Combine berry puree and sugar in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Simmer until slightly thickened and darkened, about 8-10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

Serve alongside rugelach.

Savory Pumpkin-Cheddar Rugelach

I know, I know. More pumpkin. I can't seem to help myself.

A few things have finally happened around here that suggest fall might actually be on its way:

1. According to my dashboard, the temperature dipped down to a *crisp* 69 degrees this morning. Woo!

2. I have seen/heard of several roadside pumpkin patches {and just about every other picture on my Facebook feed shows little ones posing with said pumpkins}.

3. There was only one can of pumpkin puree left on the shelves at Target.

I totally snagged it so I could make these. Score.

Have you ever tried rugelach? I remember my mom would buy them sometimes when I was younger. They came in a clear plastic cylinder, giving me a clear view that the contents were nothing to be excited about. Though I knew they were considered a "treat" I couldn't quite understand the appeal... probably because, while they were sweet, they were usually filled with fruit & nuts. And in my kid-brain, fruit & nuts equaled adult food. Therefore, yuck. {Very logical.}

It wasn't until I was a bit older that I started to appreciate them. Tender, flaky, melt-in-your mouth crust. Delicious filling all tucked and rolled into each swirled little cookie. {And I discovered that they can sometimes contain chocolate, too. That might have helped my change of heart.} What's not to love?

As much as I love rugelach with a sweet filling, this recipe for savory rugelach caught my eye immediately. In fact, I pinned them as soon as I saw them shared by King Arthur Flour... and then promptly forgot about them.

I'm really glad the thought of these popped into my head again this week. Because They.Are.GOOD.

Like, "Maybe I won't tell anyone I made these and I'll just eat the whole tray" kinda good.

{Though I don't recommend doing that or anything.}

You know what these would be perfect for? {Besides devouring, of course.} A little wine night with the girls. Or as a savory little appetizer to hold over hungry stomachs before Thanksgiving dinner. Or really, for no other reason than to have a delicious snack to nibble on any day.

While the original recipe called for the combination of pumpkin and Parmesan, I decided to use some Cabot Farmhouse Reserve Aged Cheddar, mostly just because it sounded like a good idea. {It was.} The addition of sage and onion give the pumpkin an even warmer, more inviting flavor.

Delish.

So, are you guys all pumpkined-out yet, or what? What other types of fall recipes are you hoping to see around here... I'm open to suggestions! Leave me a note in the comments or hop over to my Facebook page and let me know what you're thinking. :)

Savory Pumpkin-Cheddar Rugelach
Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup {1 stick} unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
4 ounces {half a block} cream cheese, diced

For Filling:

1 tablespoon garlic oil or regular olive oil
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
Dash of chili powder
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
1/4 cup {or a smidge more} aged white cheddar {I used Cabot Farmhouse Reserve}
2 tablespoons walnuts, finely chopped
1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
.
1. Place all pastry ingredients into a blender. Pulse until the dough comes together. You'll know it's done because it'll gather up into a ball.

2. Place dough on a floured surface and roll out into a circle, about 14 inches round. At this point, you can pop it into the fridge until you're ready to spread on the filling or wrap it up in plastic wrap in refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir, cooking until translucent and tender, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with ground sage and chili powder and cook, stirring, for about 1 more minute.

4. Add pumpkin puree, salt and pepper. Stir together with onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the pumpkin has lost some of its moisture.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with non-stick cooking spray or line with foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Either way, make sure you use cooking spray! These like to stick!

5. Remove rolled pastry circle from refrigerator. {Make sure that it is able to be removed from the surface you have it on, then dust with flour and set down again.} Spread pumpkin mixture onto the circle, leaving about 1/4 inch border. Sprinkle cheese and walnuts over top of pumpkin.

6. Using a pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges. {The easiest way to ensure they're equally sized is to cut in half, then in half again, and proceed until you have 18 long triangles.}

7. Starting at the wider end, roll each triangle up, then place on prepared baking sheet. Continue until all pieces are rolled. Brush each with egg wash.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rugelach are lightly browned.

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool down. {Be careful, they're sort of fragile when they first come out of the oven.}