Jam And Walnuts Rugelach (Cornulete Cu Gem)

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Jam and walnuts rugelach (cornulete cu gem) are perfect cookies all year around for holidays or potlucks. Easy to make, easy to serve and delicious.

Jam and walnuts rugelach (cornulete cu gem)

I was just thinking that if I was going to make the world a better place, I would do it with cookies. I am sure you already heard about rugelach cookies.

What is a rugelach:

Traditional rugelach are cookies made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough filled with different ingredients.

It could be jam, any kind of jam, it could be only nuts, chocolate spread or Turkish delight. The fillings are versatile and vary from country to country. These little delicious cookies are one of the many memories of my childhood.

The “rugelach” name seems to come from the European Jewish communities, but it is in fact a very popular dessert all over Eastern Europe. In Romania, for example, we call them “cornulete” and every household has its own “cornulete” recipe. 

If you travel to Transylvania, the recipes are made with sour cream, sometimes with lard, while in other parts of Romania, people make doughs with yeast, farmer cheese etc.

The cookies are easy to make, melt in your mouth and you will not be able to stop after one or two. Good bye diet, good bye common sense! THEY. ARE. DELICIOUS!

Over the years, I tried multiple recipes that use different ingredients from lard to margarine and butter, from yeast to yogurt and baking soda. There are somany recipes out there that I had to try some of them.

Recently, while I was looking through my books and recipes I have all over the place in my house, I found this old recipe I totally forgot about. A pastry dough made with farmer cheese. Yes, you are reading correctly, farmer cheese!

In the past, I used to make this dough all the time because it is versatile and easy to make. You can use the dough for anything.

Romanians make pies with it, cookies, pastries etc. The dough will not stick to your hands, it is easy to work with and the final result is a flaky delicious product that will make you beg for more.

How to make the jam and walnuts rugelach (Cornulete cu gem):

Mix together the soft butter, farmer cheese, flour, pinch of salt and one tablespoon sugar. You should end up with something like this:

Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator for few hours or until the next day. 

Step 2.

When ready to make the cookies, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and take out the jams and some chopped walnuts(optional).

Step 3.

Heat up the oven to 350F. 

Roll out the dough over a lightly floured surface, giving it a round shape, like a small pizza.

I used a pizza cutter to slice the dough. The idea is to have triangles of dough that will be filled with jam and then rolled.

Step 4.

Based on how big you want to make the rugelach cookies, you cut the dough in bigger or smaller triangles. 

The rugelach cookies or cornulete in Romania are very small, basically they are the size of a one bite. The ones I saw in United States are definitely bigger than the Romanian ones.

Step 5.

Put a dollop of jam and a small piece of walnut(optional) on the bottom of one of your triangles.

There is another technique I learned later in life, which might be easier: After you roll out the dough, spread the jam on the entire surface and sprinkle chopped walnuts.

Then, loosely roll up the cookie and place it on the cookie tray covered with parchment paper. 

Whatever method you use for this particular step is up to you. There is no right or wrong.

Continue doing this with all your triangles until done. 

Step 6.

Bake the cookies at 350F for about 13-15 mins or until golden brown.

Remove the cookies from the tray and place them on a cooling rack.

Prepare a bowl or a plate with powdered sugar. When cookies are cool, toss them in the powdered sugar, then place them on a platter.

They are absolutely delicious and super easy to make.

Enjoy them!

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Yield: 32

Jam And Walnuts Rugelach (Cornulete Cu Gem)

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Jam and walnuts rugelach (cornulete cu gem) are perfect cookies all year around for holidays or potlucks. Easy to make, easy to serve and delicious.

Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Inactive Time 40 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

• Equals amounts of flour, butter and farmer cheese, so I encourage you to weight everything.
• 2.6 sticks of butter or 10.5oz (300 g) soft butter
• 1.5 cups farmer cheese or ricotta (300 g) 
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour(300g) 
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4-5 tablespoons powdered sugar
• For the filling:
• Any jam you like (I used apricot jam and blackcurrant)- you can use strawberry, raspberry, plums, apple
• Chopped walnuts(optional)

Instructions

1. Mix together the soft butter, farmer cheese, flour, pinch of salt and one tablespoon sugar to obtain a dough.
2. Wrap in plastic foil and put the dough in the refrigerator to chill for an hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F.
4. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it over a floured surface giving it a round shape, about 13 inches big.
5. I used a pizza cutter to slice the dough. The idea is to have triangles of dough that will be filled with jam and then rolled. Cut about 16 triangles.
6. Put a dollop of jam and a small piece of walnut(optional) on the bottom of one of the triangles.
7. Loosely roll up.
8. Place the cookie on a baking tray covered with parchment paper.
9. Continue doing this with all your triangles until done.
10. Bake them at 350F for about 13-15 mins or until golden brown.
11. Remove them from the tray and place them on a cooling rack.
12. Prepare a plate or a bowl with powdered sugar and roll the cookies in it to cover.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

32

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 170Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 145mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 4g

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