Roasted Fig Rugelach

Do you have one of those family foods you have memories of? Well one of my favorite memories is the plastic bin of store bought rugelach on the kitchen table. Dipping them in coffee before high school is a vivid memory, and the silly sibling fights over who got how many  - haven forbid there was an odd number left one morning.

Combine yummy snickerdoodles with fruit tarts and a bit of chocolate chips and maybe also cinnamon rolls and there you have it... rugelach. Traditionally in the market you will find them with just chocolate and cinnamon sugar or with just fruit and cinnamon sugar, but I wanted a mix of everything. One day while reading the Smitten Kitchen cookbook I saw her version had raspberry jam, chocolate and cinnamon sugar. Bingo, minus the raspberry. I am not a fan of berries plus chocolate so I knew something a bit milder was going to ring well in my book. I also wanted them to be a little less "perfect" and when I saw the figs in the grocery store I knew we had magic in the near future.

This recipe is based off of the Smitten Kitchen, with really only the dough and the cooking time coming from Deb's recipe. I created "my own" version of the filling and the qualities of the filling for what I like taste-wise.

Just to note, these roasted figs really could be the start of a new friendship between me and figs. I like, but not love them like some folks. Raw are ok, but I never am sure if I want to eat the outside ... I don't know it's just a thing I have. 

These however once golden warm and yummy with melted sugar are crazy delicious. I am concocting ways of using them for example: plain yogurt + roasted figs + pistachios + coco nibs = dessert or breakfast heaven. OR roasted figs + rosemary cracker + blue cheese + dribble of balsamic = appetizer heaven. I could keep going here, maybe i'll devise a few recipes for y'all!

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ROASTED FIG RUGELACH

adapted from Smitten Kitchen - makes 24 cookies

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INGREDIENTS

1 stick of butter

4 oz cream cheese

1 cup flour plus more for rolling

1/4 tsp salt

5-8 figs

2 tsp brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1 egg yolk

INSTRUCTIONS

First thing to do is to make the dough. You can make this a day ahead so it's nice and ready for a fresh batch of cookies of breakfast ( I just like writing cookies for breakfast). With your cream cheese and stick of butter at room temperature, cream them together. You can use a mixer, or a hand mixer or like myself some elbow grease and a whisk. Make sure it's nice and fluffy. Sift your flower and your salt right into the mixture and combine to create your dough. Form three same sized mounds and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least a half an hour, preferably more. You want the dough to be nice and cold.

Next step is to roast your figs. Cut them in half and sprinkle with brown sugar. Place them in the broiler for about 10 minutes or until the sugar is melted and gooey. Remove and cool.

When you are ready to make the cookies preheat your oven to 350F and prep a baking sheets lined with parchment paper ( I need about two for this recipe). Prep your space before getting dough out of fridge. Combine your cinnamon and sugar in bowl and chop up your roasted figs and place them in bowls alongside your mini chocolate chips. Cooking mise en place is much easier for a pastry recipe like this one that requires fast hands and cold dough.

Take your first ball of dough out of the fridge and roll out to about 10 inches in diameter. Spoon about two tablespoons of the chopped figs and spread out evenly over dough. Then sprinkle 2 tbs of the cinnamon sugar combo over the top and then the chocolate chips. There should be an even amount of each over the dough, so that each slice has a similar amount of filler. Next take a knife and cut like a pizza or pie making 8 little triangles. Start on the end and roll like a crescent roll. Place on baking sheet. Roll up the rest of the seven from that batch and place the baking sheet in the freezer.

Prep the next two dough balls, and let the last batch sit in the freezer for 10 minutes. The oven should be ready to go by now. When you are about to pop them in the oven, prep a egg wash with just the yolk of an egg plus a 1/4 cup of water. Whisk together. Brush over top of each cookie and add a sprinkle more of cinnamon sugar.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until they are golden brown and cooked through. They stay nice for up to 4-5 days if they are stored in an airtight container, but seriously I dare you to try and make them last that long. You won't last one day. These little suckers are going to be one of those recipes that go down in history ... I can see requests for them at holiday gatherings for a LONG TIME.