It is definitely cookie time around here—who needs real food anyway?!! Now generally I bake alone, and being the control freak that I am, that suits me just fine (I’m the same with laundry—don’t touch it!)But sometimes especially around the holidays when I’m feeling generous spirited I let a few helpers into the kitchen😘 So say hello to my mom and hubby whose hands figure largely in the pictures as the three of us teamed up to make these wonderful Chocolate Walnut Rugelach. Go team!!!

If you’re not familiar with rugelach you should be, cause they’re so delish! These filled pastry-like cookies are a traditional Jewish delicacy originating somewhere in Eastern Europe. What separates them from other filled cookies is that the dough, in addition to having butter, also includes cream cheese, which helps to give the cookies a wonderful flavor and flaky texture.

So let’s get started, shall we?

You want to be careful that you don’t over mix the dough. It should be shaggy and choppy when you turn it out onto a board, like this.

No worries—you’ll knead it together before dividing it into 4 pieces, flattening those pieces into discs and chilling them.

When you’re ready to bake you mix together the most tantalizing, irresistible filling of chopped walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon and mini chocolate chips. What’s not to love?!! (Sorry for the weird lighting in the photo—i was losing my light—darn that daylight savings time!!)

Now you’re ready to start the assembly line.

First you roll out the dough into a large circle between wax paper so that there’s no need to add any extra flour which would toughen up the dough. Makes for easy cleanup too!

Next you sprinkle some of that delightful mixture all across the dough as well as a pinch of salt.

Now you cut the dough, pizza-style into 12 wedges and roll up each wedge into little crescents (notice my helpers’ hands?)

And it’s into the oven for these little guys where they bake up golden brown. I guarantee that your kitchen will smell fantastic!

And while the first sheet is baking, you repeat the whole process with the remaining rounds of dough. Yes, it’s a bit of a project and that’s where the helpers come in!

I just know you’re going to love these and so will anyone who tastes them! Light flaky, cream cheese enhanced pastry filled with a sweet, nutty, cinnamon-y chocolate swirl, these are sure to make the holiday season even more special!

Rustle up some willing participants and have yourself a little rugelach baking party!

Chocolate Walnut Rugelach

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Prep Time for dough: 15 minutes, plus at least 2 hours chilling time and up to 3 days: Prep Time for filling: 10 minutes; Assembly time: 20-30 minutes; Bake time: 21-24 minutes

Ingredients

For the dough

• 2 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt, plus a little extra for assembling the cookies

• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold

• 8 ounces brick full-fat cream cheese, cold

For the filling

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• ½ cup brown sugar, packed

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts

• ½ cup mini chocolate chips

The Recipe

1. To make the dough: Place the flour, sugar and salt in the large bowl of an electric mixer and mix together on low speed. Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces and add to the bowl. Mix on low speed until the mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs but you can still see some small chunks of butter. Cut the cream cheese into 1-inch cubes and add them to the bowl. Mix for about 1 minute or so until the mixture looks damp and shaggy and you can still see streaks of cream cheese.

2. Turn the dough onto a board or clean counter and knead a few times to bring it all together. Now cut it into 4 equal pieces, flatten each piece into a 4-inch circle, wrap each one in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and make sure oven rack is centered.

4. Now you can make the filling but if you’ve left the dough in for longer than 2 hours, you’re going to want to take it out so it can soften up a bit to be able to be rolled out. You can always return some of the discs to the fridge if the dough is getting too soft to work with.

5. To make the filling: Mix both sugars, the cinnamon, walnuts and chips in a medium bowl and set aside.

6. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Place one piece of the dough onto a piece of waxed or parchment paper and cover with another piece. On a board or clean counter, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rough 12-inch circle, with the dough about ⅛ inch thick. Don’t roll it too thinly or it’ll be hard to work with. Peel off the top sheet and then flip the dough over. Carefully peel off the second sheet.

7. Sprinkle ¼ of the filling evenly all across the dough and sprinkle the top with a pinch of salt. Use the rolling pin to gently roll over the filling to help it adhere to the dough.

8. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the circle into 12 wedges. Starting from the outside edge, roll each wedge tightly towards the point. Place the cookies on the lined baking sheet with the seam side down, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart.

9. Bake for 21-24 minutes, turning the sheet halfway through the process to ensure even baking. Cookies are done when they appear light golden brown at the edges. Transfer the tray to a wire rack and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

10. Repeat the entire process with the remaining 3 discs of dough. If at any time you feel the dough is getting sticky and hard to roll out, return to the fridge to let it firm up a bit. Otherwise it can be hard to peel off the wax paper.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich. I subbed in mini chocolate chips for the currants, cause why not?!! And I tinkered with some of the techniques too.