“Frosty Winter Walks-Apricot/Chocolate Rugelach and Festive Fruit Tart”!

The New Year is upon us; the last few weeks have been a happy blur of visits with dear friends and family. We have enjoyed wonderful meals together for both Christmas and Hanukah. This blog will feature a festive fruit tart that we served for Christmas and delicious chocolate and apricot rugelach that our daughter Lev made to celebrate Hanukah. Luckily we were able to go on a few hikes to work off the rich food!

One day, we walked at a a favorite place; Thousand Acre Swamp in New Marlborough, Massachusetts with serene trails that wind through pine forests and overlook a beautiful swamp.

Delicate princess pines peeked demurely through a light cover of snow.

Another day we enjoyed a late leisurely breakfast at the newly reopened Roadside Diner in Monterey, MA. The diner is operated by Gould Farm, a therapeutic community. Just down the road is the lovely 1.5 mile Diane’s Trail that winds through Gould Farm, along a wetland habitat and the Rawson Brook.

As we walked alongside the marsh, sunlight sparkled on the ice.

We trekked over a wooden bridge and saw what we thought was a large bird’s nest, made from branches lining the sides of the brook.

A bit further on, we came upon another branch sculpture that was definitely made by people or a large creative bird!

Back out of the cold, we returned home to our baking projects.

We planned a small Hanukah party and our daughter Lev, who is an excellent baker, offered to make rugelach. For those not familiar with this delicacy, the pastry can be traced back to medieval times in Eastern Europe within the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Poland.

Various fillings of nuts, chocolate, apricot and raspberry jams are encased in a delicate cream cheese based pastry. Lev even made a sugar free version for my husband, using dried apricots and chopped Lily’s Stevia chocolate.

Apricot and Chocolate Rugelach (Recipe adapted from Epicurious.com)

Dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp. kosher salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Fillings:

½ cup plus 4 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup apricot preserves

1/2 cup toasted walnuts (or toasted pecans!)

1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots (for sugar free version)

2 ounces finely chopped Lily’s Stevia Dark Chocolate (for sugar free version)

For Chocolate filling:

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted with 1 tablespoon bitter, mixed with enough cinnamon sugar to make a paste similar to Nutella.

1/4 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped. Pecans are also great!

Milk for brushing cookies

Special equipment: parchment paper; a small offset spatula

Preparation

Step 1:Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined well. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, then flatten (in wrap) into a roughly 7×5″ rectangle. Chill until firm, 8 to 24 hours.

Step 2:Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of 1–1½”-deep large shallow baking pan with parchment paper.

Step 3:Cut dough into 4 pieces. Chill 3 pieces, wrapped in plastic wrap, and roll out remaining piece into a 12×8″ rectangle on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment, then transfer to a tray and chill while rolling out remaining dough in same manner, transferring each to another sheet of parchment and stacking on tray.

Step 4:Whisk ½ cup sugar with cinnamon.

Step 5:Arrange 1 dough rectangle on work surface with a long side nearest you. For Apricot Rugelach: Spread ¼ cup preserves evenly over dough with offset spatula and a rounded ¼ cup walnuts over jam, then sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar. For Chocolate Rugelach, melt 2 ounces chocolate and mix with enough cinnamon sugar to make a coarse paste, similar to Nutella in texture. Spread evenly over dough and then sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped walnuts on top.

Step 6:Using parchment as an aid, roll up dough tightly into a log. Place, seam side down, in lined baking pan, then pinch ends closed and tuck underneath. Make 3 more logs in same manner and arrange 1″ apart in pan. Brush logs with milk and sprinkle each with 1 tsp. of remaining granulated sugar. With a sharp large knife, make ¾”-deep cuts crosswise in dough (not all the way through) at 1″ intervals. (If dough is too soft to cut, refrigerate until firmer, 20–30 minutes.)

Step 7:Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to warm on baking sheet set atop wire rack, about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board and slice cookies all the way through.

ENJOY!!

I created this fruit tart for my husband. There is only a small amount of coconut sugar (very low glycemic index) in the pastry filling and no sugar in the fruit. It is light and refreshing; totally guilt free!

Festive Fruit Tart

Pastry Filling:

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 tablespoons coconut sugar (more if sweeter taste is desired)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pastry Crust:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup whole grain spelt four

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter

3 tablespoons non-hydrogenated shortening (I like the organic Spectrum brand)

3 or more tablespoons ice water

Fruit Topping:

1 large ripe kiwi- cut into think slices

1 /2 raspberries

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup blackberries

Make the Pastry Filling:

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the almond milk.

In a small sauce pan over low heat, bring the almond milk to a simmer with the coconut sugar.

Whisk in the remaining almond milk and stir constantly until the mixture thickens slightly. It will become much thicker after it cools.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Refrigerate a few hours until very cold and the mixture has thickened. This can be made a day in advance.

Make the pastry crust:

In the bowl of a food processor combine flours, salt, butter and shortening until just combined.

Add the ice water and process until a ball shape forms. You may need to add more water a tablespoon at a time.

Refrigerate at least one hour.

Bring pastry dough to room temperature.

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees Farenheit

On a floured surface, roll the dough out and place into a pie dish. Trim and crimp edges. The crust will be completely baked and cooled before filling.

Prick the crust all over lightly with a fork and line the crust with a large sheet of parchment paper. Add pie weights (I use old coffee beans) to crust and bake in oven about 10 minutes. Carefully remove parchment paper and pie weights; continue to bake crust until it is lightly browned all over. If the edges seem to be browning too quickly, cover the edges with a small amount of foil. The crust will bake aprox. 15-20 minutes more.

Cool completely and then add cold pastry filling. Decorate with fruit and serve!

ENJOY!!

AND: Here is the first 2025 “Tree of the Week”!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!