Unlike many of the dishes that we’ll be serving at Cornman Farms, rugelach are in the eastern European Jewish tradition I grew up with. Small cookies made with sweet cream cheese pastry rolled around various fillings. The original we offered was a very typical walnut and currant. Over the years we’ve added apricot, raspberry, apple, and chocolate. Last week, we added an awesome new option. Date! They are, as per the title above, delicious. The elegant Near Eastern sweetness of the dried dates, made all the more magical by a bit of ground cardamom and coffee.
If you don’t know rugelach, Amy and Frank wrote in Zingerman’s Bakehouse,
Rugelach are the most popular and well-known Jewish cookie in the United States and are definitely the most popular Jewish cookies we make at the bakery. This version … has a delicate and flaky dough (two-thirds of the dough is fat—butter and cream) encasing special fillings, sprinkled with sugar, and baked until golden brown.
Rugelach evolved the Eastern European Jewish cookie called kipfel. In the early 1950s, the name “rugelach” appeared, and now it has taken over.
The name? It could be from the Yiddish rog meaning “corner.” Or the Polish rog which also means “horn,” or the Polish and Ukrainian pastry rogalik. Others say it means “royal” in Yiddish. They seem to be in the same crescent-shaped tradition of baked goods that’s given us classics like croissants and kipferl cookies! Either way, they’re really good.
I’ve been experimenting with some creative ways to embellish the excellence of the Date Rugelach even further of late. They’re delicious dipped into Noccioliva, the artisan chocolate spread we get from Italy. It also makes a lovely small plated dessert—put a bit of the Creamery’s handmade cream cheese down on a plate, drizzle on some date syrup or maple syrup, then place the rugelach on top. Both comforting and exotic at the same time, the Date Rugelach are remarkably tasty! Eat and enjoy!
