I love to bake cookies, it is no secret. I fill up extra hours with cookie making and even sell them on Etsy as a side hobby. I really thought I understood cookies. I did until I came across this recipe for Rugelach which was one of the two recipes for Tuesdays with Dori this month.
I thought I could read a recipe, until I saw the other results from different bakers all using the same recipe, recipes can obviously be interpreted differently. Regardless of the outcome, these cookies won me with complex flavors and possessed exquisite texture. The pastry dough was noticeably flaky with a tender tang that was well appreciated.
These cookies are involved, it is the filling that consumes all the time. From the apricot levkar that gets slathered onto the dough, mixed fruit filling, chopped nut filling, sugar filling, and then a spiced sugar with ground nuts to roll the cooike in once they have been assembled, these cookies take some elbow grease and ingredients.
All this being said I ran across Food52's manifesto. I can't help but agree and share their intent that food made at home can change our lives for the better. These cookies were a pain but int the end completely worth it.
The FOOD52 Manifesto
If you cook, your family will eat dinner together.
If you cook, you will naturally have a more sustainable household.
If you cook, you'll set a lifelong example for your children.
If you cook, you'll understand what goes into food and will eat more healthily.
If you cook, you'll make your home an important place in your life.
If you cook, you'll make others happy.
If you cook, people will remember you.
This week’s hosts – Jessica of My Baking Heart and Margaret of The Urban Hiker visit their pages for recipes. 
I really like that manifesto!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, though they were delicious I can't imagine trying them again - just not worth the effort!
Yes, a lot of work. Luckily they taste good enough to [maybe] make it worth it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Food52 Manafesto. I think that way all the time. I tell myself, I'm not making dinner so we can eat, because we could get food from many sources. I cook so that we are self sufficient. I cook so we can spend time together. I cook so my kids learn how, and learn how to be healthy. I don't cook/bake to eat, I cook/bake FOR my family.
Yours look delicious. I love the fillings you used. I really enjoyed these but not sure I'd go to that much effort again. I can feel them increasing my hips just looking at the photos!!
ReplyDeleteI've learned to dice the fruit and nuts pretty finely. That way the rolls (or crescents) work a bit better. Glad these tasted good!
ReplyDeleteYour post is so true. Love your photos, great TWD recipe.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors of the spread. They were tasty if not a bit fussy.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a lot of work but I took advantage of the ability to make it over several days and it was a fun thing for me to make. Yours look very yummy!
ReplyDeleteso so true. I am sure tasted yummy!
ReplyDeletelovely photos, well done :)
ReplyDeleteLovely post & beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen that food manifesto. Those words are very true. And it makes me feel even better about all of the time I spend in the kitchen. Beautiful pics, too!
ReplyDelete