Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Rugelach
I embarked on this project in hopes of incorporating the flavors of my Southern upbringing—pecans, bourbon—into that beloved cookie of my adopted Jewish culture. Doesn’t barely sweet cream-cheese dough wrapped around a rich pecan filling sound like a match made in heaven? That’s because it is.
Ingredients
- Dough
- 2½ cups flour
- 6 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 16 ounces salted butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg yolk (save the white for egg wash)
- Filling
- 1 cup pecans
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
- Mix flour and 6 tablespoons sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a stand or hand mixer, pulse in softened butter and cream cheese until "sandy" in texture. Add egg yolk. Pulse until a dough forms. Work the dough with your hands into a ball, then divide into 4 balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- While the dough chills, prepare the filling. In a food processor, pulse the pecan pieces until finely ground. Over medium heat, melt together butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract and bourbon. Add in chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Remove from heat.
- After chilling, remove dough from the fridge and on a generously floured surface, roll out to a 2-inch-wide rectangle. Spread a thin layer of the filling over the dough, leaving a bit of room at the edges so that the dough doesn’t overflow. Roll the dough slowly into a tight log lengthwise. Carefully transfer the log to a baking sheet or board and refrigerate for 20 minutes until firm. Repeat with remaining logs.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Remove logs from refrigerator and cut into 1½-inch-wide slices. Place on baking sheet. Beat reserved egg white with a splash of water and brush over each cookie. Sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool and serve. Rugelach also freeze well; store in an airtight container and defrost before serving.
Heather Bien
