Rugelach

This week we are making another one of my childhood favorites, rugelach! As a kid my mom, sister and I would stop at Solley’s deli in the San Fernando Valley to grab a few treats on the way to my grandparents’ house for Friday night Shabbat dinner. As we walked through the line along the bakery case I’d be eyeing all of the little cookies; butter cookies with a cherry in the middle, small rounds of butter cookies speckled with flat pastel-colored sprinkles, and the delicious looking filled-pastry rugelach. Off we’d go with our pink box wrapped with white bakery twine, and a loaf of challah.

A cross between a pastry and a cookie, rugelach is the best of both worlds, made of a tender and flaky cream cheese dough, spread with a filling, then rolled into a crescent and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before baking. They emerge from the oven crisp on the edges with a chewy softer center.

In preparation for Hanukkah, we will be making rugelach this week as our Secret Item. we are making ours with Purple Karma Barley, an incredible, milky-sweet locally grown grain that looks like small heirloom popcorn, There will be six to a box -- three made with mini chocolate chips and roasted salted pecans, and three made with a puree of prunes that I have been soaking in whiskey for a couple of years. Available this week for our newsletter subscribers only, so be sure to join our email list for access to all of our weekly specials.

This weekend I’ll be on the other side of the counter, handing out boxes of treats wrapped with our red candy striped bakery twine. Hope to see you then!