Rugelach Recipe — The Ritual of Making, the Comfort of Sharing

Martin Luther King Jr. Day and no school and I spent the day with Marvin, which is what the non-school days are for now — the days when I am not Mrs. Feldman and am only Ruth, Ruth who sits with her husband and talks to him and feeds him and reads to him and plays music and does the crossword puzzle while he naps and waits for the windows and holds his hand and measures the quality of the day by whether he squeezed back. Today he squeezed back. A good day.

I read Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" aloud — not to Marvin specifically, but in the living room, where Marvin was sitting, because I read it every MLK Day, the way I read the Haggadah at Passover: as a ritual, as a discipline, as a reminder that justice is not a destination but a practice, and the practice requires reading and remembering and the willingness to be uncomfortable with what you read. Marvin did not respond. The letter is long and dense and its arguments are for minds that can follow arguments, and Marvin's mind can no longer follow. But I read it anyway, in the living room, with the winter light coming through the windows, because the reading is for me, and the sound of the reading is for Marvin, and the room held both of us and the words and the light, and the holding was enough.

I made Sylvia's mushroom barley soup — the thick, earthy, deeply nourishing soup that is my winter anchor, the soup that says: it is cold outside and warm in here, and you are fed, and you are safe, and the mushrooms are the color of the earth and the barley is the grain of endurance and the broth is three hours of patience and attention. I made it and I ate it and Marvin ate it and the soup did what soup does: it held us together, one bowl at a time.

Some days call for soup, and some days call for something small and sweet to set alongside the soup — something made with hands and patience, the kind of recipe you return to the way you return to a letter you already know by heart. Rugelach is that recipe for me: each little crescent rolled and tucked and filled, the same way every time, the repetition itself a kind of prayer. I made a batch while the soup was going, because the kitchen on a cold January afternoon should smell like more than one thing, and because Marvin has always loved them, and because some rituals ask to be layered, one on top of the other, until the day holds more than it would have otherwise.

Rugelach

Prep Time: 30 min (plus 1 hr chilling) | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: ~2 hrs | Servings: 32 pieces

Ingredients

• Dough:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• Filling:
• 1/2 cup apricot or raspberry jam
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• Topping:
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp coarse sugar or cinnamon sugar

Instructions

1. Make the dough. Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth and fluffy, about 2—3 minutes. Add granulated sugar, salt, and flour and mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overwork it. Divide into four equal discs, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Prepare the filling. Stir together the chopped walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Warm the jam slightly so it spreads easily.
4. Roll and fill. Working with one disc of dough at a time (keep the rest refrigerated), roll out on a lightly floured surface into a roughly 10-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Spread 2 tablespoons of jam evenly over the surface, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the walnut-sugar mixture and, if using, a handful of raisins. Press the filling gently into the dough.
5. Cut and roll. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the circle into 8 equal wedges (like a pizza). Starting from the wide outer edge, roll each wedge toward the point, curling it into a crescent. Place point-side down on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
6. Chill briefly. Place the filled baking sheet in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Cold dough holds its shape better in the oven.
7. Egg wash and bake. Brush each rugelach lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse or cinnamon sugar. Bake 22—25 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden brown. Rotate the pan halfway through for even browning.
8. Cool. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They firm up as they cool. Repeat with remaining dough discs.

Nutrition (per piece)

Calories: 125 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 0.5g | Sodium: 55mg