This week, the Doristas made Rugelach, from Baking with Julia, and though I’d never tasted Rugelach (nor do I think I can say it properly), I was more than willing to give it a go. The directions made me a bit worried, however, that the multi-day process would be more than I could achieve.
Gorilla Girl seemed drawn to the rugelach making process, however, and her attention included quickly figuring out what to do with the left over dough. The final product was tasty — filled with cherry preserves, apricots, and cranberries, covered in carmelized brown sugar and cinnamon, but Gorilla Girl’s concoction was beautiful in its simplicity — in presentation and in taste.
Gorilla Girl decided to make spirals, calling them snail cookies, and her attention to detail was impressive. Her nimble fingers seemed more adept than my own at patience and ease with cutting and rolling the dough.
Gorilla Girl could give lessons on rolling, cutting, and baking the cookies. Instead, I’ll include the photos of her at each step in her process.
You can see my rugelach fully loaded and ready to be rolled. I think, despite Dorie’s suggestion to fully pack this with the good dried fruit (and nuts, which I omitted since GG has a nut aversion–a texture issue), it was almost too full to roll. The cherry loaded with fruit filling squished out all over the counter (not that it was a big problem since we scooped it up and ate it!).
Sprinkling the extra cinnamon sugar on her dough was Gorilla Girl’s idea, along with her idea to use the pizza cutter to make these strips. I didn’t know what she planned with the strips, but it soon became apparent.
The rugelach recipe was complex, but once done, it seemed simpler. Maybe it was overcoming the challenge of the unknown. Perhaps it was also Gorilla Girl’s creativity and excitement about making her own creation that spurred me on despite my concern that at each step, I had no idea what to expect at the final outcome. The mystery was solved, and I also got to witness Gorilla Girl trying a new twist on making her art.
Necessity is the Mother of Invention 
The recipe certainly looked daunting at first.
Multi-day process is right! These are definitely not a last-minute cookie! Instead of nuts I omitted the dried fruit (texture aversion, too) and my rugelach were still almost too full to roll, too. I can’t imagine making it work with all three components. And how very creative of GG!
Sounds like it was a lot of fun!! Looks delicious.
What delicious looking results! I may have to make the simple ones with no fill as well. They look tasty!
I love this! She’s a little mini baker – and “snail cookies”? Fantastic!
Wow! She really seems to know what she’s doing! Isn’t it great when they show an interest in cooking? Lately, Doug pulls out the Tupperware bowls when I start to cook and asks me for a little bit of each ingredient that I am using so he can “make” the same thing. His, however, usually ends up with lots of water in it, and when he tries to pour it from one container to the other (a skill he’s determined to master as he “serves up” his creations), it spills all over the counter. Keep practicing, I say!
Looks like GG is off to a great start as a pastry chef! I think both of your filling combos looks good!
Good for her! She gets two gold stars this week!
I love those cherry preserves – I almost always have a jar of those in my pantry. They make a great filling for chocolate cake layers 🙂
cherry preserves sound delicious! Your little helper is adorable 🙂
Gorilla Girl’s version is so appealing – not just in its simplicity, either. I bet they tasted great. I like the idea of using cherry preserves, as well.