Cinnamon and Chocolate Chip Rugelach Cookies

Remember that cookie swap I was telling you about, this is what I made. It’s a great treat for the holiday season, or any season for that matter. They are fairly small as well, meaning you can eat three of them and not hate yourself for it. Such a win.

The cookie swap turned out to be a whole lot of fun. I must have tested a dozen cookie recipes in the last few months. I’m stocked with cookie dough for the winter. This recipe was one of my absolute favorites. They were easy to make, relatively inexpensive to make and they held up really well after several days without refrigeration.
I actually created something that I called ‘the experiment box’. Every time I made a tester batch of cookies, I put one cookie into the experiment box, which was left out of the refrigerator at room temperature for 3-5 days. Then I compared the refrigerated cookies to the experiment box cookies to see if the ones that were left out still tasted decent. Some cookies were great when refrigerated but terrible if left at room temperature for a few days. I really wanted to find a cookie that would survive being mailed across the country, and these were it. They were just as great when they came out of the oven as they were 4 days later. Keep that in mind for your holiday gift giving!

I sent these cookies out to:

Crazy for Crust

My Sweet Zepol cake boutique

Pinch of Salt

Hopefully everyone enjoyed these as much as I did!

The other cool thing about the cookie swap was getting to receive three dozen cookies. Three very kind people sent me their cookies for the swap. They were all great. We received oatmeal white chocolate butterscotch preztel cookie ( a mouthful of a name and a cookie!), a cranberry and lemon biscotti, and a peanut butter white chocolate pretzel cookie. I thought it was interesting that we got two different pretzel cookies–an ingredient I had never thought of using before. It was quite interesting, gave the cookies a savory crunch, which turned out to be a nice juxtaposition to the other, sweeter ingredients. My family and I have been munching away at all the cookies. Thank you all for the cookies!

Cinnamon and Chocolate Chip Rugelach Cookies

Adapted from Jenny’s Cookbook

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cold, cut into smallish pieces
1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon milk
1 egg white
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Directions

In a medium size bowl combine the flour, salt, and 1/4 cup of sugar. Then cut in the butter, cream cheese and sour cream with a pastry cutter (or using two knives ) until crumbly and the pieces are no bigger than peas. Divide the dough into four equal balls and flatten each ball into a disk. Wrap each disk separately in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

Once your dough has been chilled and you are ready to continue combine the cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a small bowl, set aside. Roll one disk into a 9 inch circle. Keep the other disks in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them. Sprinkle on 1/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture and then 1/4  cup of the chocolate chips. Gently press the chocolate chips into dough with your hands. Then cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge starting at the wide end and continuing towards the thin end. Place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat this process for all other wedges and remaining dough disks.

Whisk the milk and egg white together until combined and brush each roll with this mixture. Sprinkle some sugar after the rolls have been brushed. Chill the cookies for 20 minutes before putting them in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350F and place the chilled cookies on the middle rack for 22 minutes, until the tops and edges are just golden. Cool the cookies on wire racks and then store them in an airtight container, or your tummy. These freeze well, that is if you didn’t finish all of them.

Yields 48 cookies.

Advertisement