Rugelach

Rugelach - we make these for the holidays.

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.)

Filling:
½ c + 2 T sugar
1 T cinnamon
3 T melted butter (you might need more)
¾ c. currants
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 pastry cloth. 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 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.