the 34 cookies of Christmas: day 9

Our ninth cookie that we focus on is a non-traditional rugelach. Living in Manhattan for years, we remember seeing mounds of rugelach in Jewish bakeries and delis throughout the city-- cookie pastry filled with various delicious ingredients including raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, chocolate, marzipan, or preserves which are rolled up inside. We undertook to create our own variety-- one which might capture our own tastes and enjoyment of culinary experimentation. After many basic attempts, we arrived at the current version which we are very pleased with. A slightly sweet and dense cream cheese dough is filled with a sweet blend of chopped ingredients including cinnamon, Belgian bittersweet chocolate, demura sugar, vanilla, dried pears, and toasted hazelnuts. It is sweet and nutty, spicy and bitter. These cookies are perfect in the morning with coffee, delightful in the afternoon for tea, and the perfect food to snack on in the evening. They have become a year-round favorite, but an important addition to our holiday cookie trays and platters.