Sour Cherry Rugelach

(Won the Chicago Tribune’s holiday baking contest and was featured in their Ethnic Chicago Cookbook)

Dough:
1 c. butter at room temp.
1 8 oz package light cream cheese at room temp.
½ c. sugar
2 ¾ c. flour
1 t. salt
Filling:
¾ c. sugar
2/3 c. dried sour cherries, finely chopped (I usually use dried cranberries)
2/3 c. toasted walnuts, finely chopped
½ c. butter, melted
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. allspice
1/8 t. salt

1. For dough: beat butter and cream cheese until light. Add sugar, beat until fluffy. Mix in flour and salt. Gather into a ball and gently knead until smooth and flour is incorporated. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Flatten into disks; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hr.

2. For filling: mix sugar, cherries, walnuts, melted butter cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. Heat oven to 350

3. Unwrap dough disks and roll into 8” rounds on a lightly floured surface. Spread 3 T filling onto the center of each circle, leaving about a 1/2” border. Cut circle into 9 wedges, using a pizza cutter type thing. Starting at the wide end of each wedge, roll up each cookie tightly. Place tip side down on ungreased cookie sheets; bend into crescents. Repeat with remaining dough disks.

4. Bake until rugelach are golden brown – about 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks. (be careful when transferring as filling does leak and caramelize – and becomes very, very hot)

Kim Butler
Archivist/Associate Director of Archives