Thursday, December 02, 2010

Rugelach and more NOOKcolor



Since I'm not making latkes until Sunday night, and there are plenty of other blogs posting recipes, I thought I'd share one of our family traditional cookies instead. They're not 'officially' connected to Hanukkah, although we've made them at our house for decades. They're great for assembly line preparation with kids. And enough work so that they're a definite 'occasion' treat. You can also make the dough well ahead of time, which is another plus in my book.

The recipe's at the end of this post.

As for today's NOOKcolor report. I've already talked about reading books, but what about getting the books onto the device. One thing I've always been is frugal. Raising 3 kids on a university professor's salary will do that to you. I've never had a huge TBR pile. I do, however, have a TBR list. I'm also reluctant to spend money on books I'm not sure I'll like, or on authors I've never heard of.

So, with my NC, I take advantage of the samples and their wish list. I can browse the bookstore, click 'sample' and/or 'wish list', and presto--the book appears on my NC. Depending on the length of the book, the sample size varies. For a "Thomas" book for my grandson, the sample didn't get beyond the front matter. But for Lee Child's new book, I got about 60 pages. So, when I'm ready to read, I can open the sample, and if I like it, I can then click the 'buy now' option and add the entire book. That way, I don't spend money until I "need" the book, but I'm also able to browse content without going to the library or bookstore (and if you live where I do, that's a plus!)

And onto the Rugelach!


Rugelach

Pastry:
2 sticks butter
8 oz. cream cheese
½ t salt
2 c flour
In a large bowl of electric mixer, cream butter & cream cheese until completely blended & smooth. Beat in the salt and gradually add flour on low speed. Wrap and refrigerate overnight. (I've even frozen the dough for weeks in advance.)

Filling:
½ c + 2 T sugar
1 T cinnamon
3 T melted butter (you might need more)
¾ c. dried currants (or raisins, but chop them down to currant size first)
1 ¼ c finely chopped walnuts.

Combine everything except the butter

Take a third of the dough and stick the rest back in the fridge.

Place 1 ball of dough on floured surface (I use a Tupperware pastry sheet. Roll into a circle about ⅛ inch thick.

Brush pastry with melted butter. Sprinkle with filling. Roll filling gently into pastry with rolling pin. Cut into wedges (I can usually get 16 from each circle of dough.) Roll each wedge, jelly roll fashion, rolling from the outside toward the point.

Then place each little roll, with the point down, 1 inch apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Curve them slightly - they're supposed to be horn or crescent shaped.

Pastries may be glazed with a mixture of 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp water before baking. You can also sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until golden.

10 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Thanks for the Rugelach recipe--I love that it can be made ahead. :) And thanks for the insights on the NOOKColor. Samples are a good thing, I think...especially since people can flip through a book and sample a print copy. Why not an electronic one?

Terry Odell said...

Elizabeth - happy to provide both.

Pamela Hearon said...

This sounds delicious, Terry! Thanks for sharing:-)

Annabelle Ambrosio said...

I wrote down the recipe. My grandmother and mother used to make something like them with walnuts and confectionary sugar. Delicious.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Oh, yum. I'll bet homemade rugelach is a lot better than what we can buy in the stores.

Terry Odell said...

Happy to share - tomorrow I'll have another recipe, but it's going to be at the Author Expressions Blog, where it's my turn to post.

Kelly Anderson said...

Hi Terry,
For another frugal way to get ebooks, have you tried your local library's Overdrive site for downloadable ebooks? Not all libraries have this service but if yours does it's worth taking a look. http://search.overdrive.com/
The Pikes Peak Library District has an Overdrive site http://cybershelf.ppld.org

Terry Odell said...

Kelly - thanks. I checked our library's website for e-books, and it sends you to the Gutenberg Project, which isn't the same, I don't think. But I can check your link.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

Terry - I really want to try making some sweet potato latkes this year, but can you suggest something that would go well with them? Or are they just meant to be eaten as a snack?

Looking at your Nook comments with interest - still thinking about upgrading my reader.

Terry Odell said...

Jenyfer - I think anything would go with the sweet potatoes. There was a recipe for mashed sweet potatoes that used chipotle peppers, but for these, I'd probably go with some fruit type topping if you think they need anything at all.