Apricot- Or Chocolate-filled Rugelach

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup apricot jam
• 2 tablespoons cake crumbs (optional)
• 3/4 cup walnuts, broken up
• 1 cup shaved bittersweet chocolate (about 8 ounces)
• 1/4 cup sugar

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f/180°c/gas4.
• 2 combine the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, salt and lemon juice and vanilla in a bowl, add the flour and using an electric mixer, combine all ingredients until a very smooth and soft dough has formed.
• 3 alternatively use a food processor to do this and pulse until you have a soft dough.
• 4 chill the dough for at leats 60 minutes in the fridge.
• 5 mix the ingredients for either of the two fillings, or half the ingredients and make both.
• 6 remove the dough from the fridge and divide into four portions.
• 7 shape into four balls and roll the balls out into circles of approx 1/8 inch thickness.
• 8 divide the filling between the circles and spread it out.
• 9 cut into pizza-wedge shapes that are approximately one inch wide at the outside.
• 10 carefully roll them up, starting from the wide side (outside ofthe circle)towards the centre.
• 11 brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
• 12 bake on a greased cookie sheet for approximately 25 minutes or until golden.
• 13 alternative:.
• 14 instead of the round shapes, you can roll out your dough into four 1/4 inch thick rectangles, spread with filling, roll jelly-roll style, from the wide end, so you get a long roll, rather than a thick one, and cut it into 1/2 inch slices.
• 15 place them flat on a cookie sheet, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and bake as above.