Rugelach

Coming from the Yiddish word for "little twists", these sweet filled pastries of Polish origin taste as good as they look. While they will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, they're so good they're likely to disappear as fast as you can make them. Once you've got the hang of rolling the biscuits, you can vary the filling as much as you like- try marzipan, chocolate or poppy seeds.

• makes

  32

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 egg, lightly beaten 
• 1 tbsp milk 
• 55 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
• 160 g (½ cup) cherry jam 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 50 g (½ cup) walnuts, finely chopped 
• 80 g (½ cup) sultanas, roughly chopped 

Sour cream dough

• 125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 185 g (¾ cup) sour cream  
• 1 egg yolk 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 300 g (2 cups) plain flour, sifted

Chilling time: 2 hours

Instructions

To make the dough, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sour cream until combined. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla, then gradually beat in the flour and ¼ teaspoon of salt until mixture forms a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. 

Preheat oven to 170°C.

Whisk together egg and milk in a small bowl and set aside. Divide dough into 4 and roll out each piece on a lightly floured work surface to a 22cm round. Spread the jam over the dough leaving a 2cm border.

Combine the sugar, cinnamon, walnuts and sultanas in a bowl and scatter evenly over the 4 rounds. Cut each round into 8 wedges. Roll each wedge towards its point to enclose the filling. Lightly bend each pastry to form a crescent shape and place on 2 oven trays lined with baking paper.

Brush with egg mixture and bake for 15 minutes, swapping trays halfway, or until lightly golden.

Photography by John Laurie. Food preparation by Angela Nahas and Julie Ballard.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.