Marionberry Hazelnut Rugelach

There's something so fun about rolling pastry twists. This rugelach is made with a cream cheese-based dough that yields a very light and tender pastry. I opted for a very Oregonian take on the pastry, filling it with local marionberry jam and hazelnuts to add a nice burst of flavor. Really any kind of filling would be delicious.

I start by chopping up the hazelnuts (in hindsight I would chop them smaller) and putting them under the broiler for a couple minutes to bring out their flavor.

The dough was quick to prepare and after cooling it in the refrigerator for about an hour it is ready to roll out. While it was cooling I mixed up some cinnamon-sugar. The ratio that seemed the best was about 8:1 sugar and cinnamon. The dough is really sticky so I'm using a good amount of flour to keep it under control.

After rolling the dough, the jam is spread over the dough and the nuts are sprinkled on top.

Now is the fun part! The dough is cut into 16 slices like a pizza, then rolled from the outside in. Once tall the slices are rolled and on a baking sheet, a little more of the cinnamon-sugar and some course sugar on top are the finishing touch.

Once they are golden brown they are done! The texture is extremely light, and the cream cheese flavor mixes very well with the marionberry jam.

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Marionberry Hazelnut Rugelach Recipe

Makes 16 pastries.

     Rugelach dough

     Bread flour - 1 1/4 cup - 168 g

     Pastry flour - 1/4 cup - 36 g

     Salt - pinch

     Butter - 1 cup - 226 g

     Cream Cheese - 3/4 cup - 168 g

     Rugelach filling/topping

     Marionberry jam (or other jam) - 1/2 cup - 100 g

     Hazelnuts (or other nuts) - 1 cup - 128 g

     Cinnamon-Sugar (8 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon) - 1/4 cup - 42 g

     Course Sugar - 2 tbsp - 10 g

     Egg wash (eggs mixed with a little milk) - as needed

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix together the butter and cream cheese with the paddle attachment on medium speed until totally incorporated, about 5 minutes.
3. Sift together the bread flour, pastry flour and salt. Add to the butter-cream cheese mixture on low speed until just incorporated.
4. Turn out dough onto a floured work surface. Roll out to be a long rectangle and fold the dough in half twice to make a square.
5. Shape the dough into a disc and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, about 1 hour. 
6. In the meantime, mix cinnamon and sugar together and set aside. Chop the nuts and toast for extra flavor if desired. Set those aside.
7. Once the dough is firm, roll out to a large round circle. Spread the jam evenly across the top and add the nuts followed by most of the cinnamon-sugar.
8. Cut the dough into 16 slices and begin rolling each slice from the outside edge in to form the twist. Place all the finished twists on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar mix on top with course sugar if desired.
9. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.