Hanukkah commences with tonight’s sunset, and I wanted to make a traditional dessert to commemorate my Jewish heritage on my dad’s side of the family.
Every time we’d visit my paternal grandparents in Riverdale, NY, my grandma would make a trip to a bakery on Arthur Avenue for chocolate babka and rugelach. This marks my first foray into making the classic cookies, and I figured I’d document the process – with my trusty iPhone, of course – to share with you.
Here we go!
I’d say Ina’s recipe is a winner! I used 1/3-less-fat neufchatel instead of full-fat cream cheese… but don’t get me wrong, these cookies are anything but light. Apricot jam, raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon sugar are rolled into the barely sweet buttery dough, resulting in a rich and flaky cookie.
Although not every cookie is picture-perfect, I’m pretty happy with how my first batch of rugelach turned out.
Happy Hanukkah!
