Ginger-SPIKED RUGELACH

(with inspiration from Marcy Goldman and Blue Bottle Coffee)
 
makes two dozen
 
Dough-
 
⅓ cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dark molasses
1 cup all-purpose flour OR 1 cup white whole wheat flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons cocoa
1¾ teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cardamom
⅛ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 oz. (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
4 oz. cream cheese, cold and cut into pieces
 
Filling- (this will fill two 10” circles of dough)
 
½ cup apricot preserves
¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon cocoa
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cardamom
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
 
Measure out the apricot preserves in one small bowl, the chopped walnuts in another. Combine the sugars, cocoa and spices in another bowl. Place the ginger in a separate bowl. (Ramekins are great for lining up the ingredients.)
 
additional apricot preserves for glazing the baked rugelach
additional chopped crystallized ginger and walnuts for garnish
 
Prepare the dough-
 
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, place the brown sugar, molasses, flour, salt, cocoa, spices, and fresh ginger. Add the cold butter and cream cheese. Pulse to combine thoroughly. Use a rubber scraper to carefully turn out the dough (watch out for the blade!) on to a lightly floured sheet of plastic wrap. Pat into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out. When ready to roll out the dough, divide the disc in half and shape each half into a circle. Rewrap one disc in plastic and refrigerate. On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough into 10” circle. Transfer the parchment paper with the dough to a baking sheet and refrigerate while you roll out the second disc of dough the same way. Gather together the filling ingredients. Retrieve one circle of dough from the fridge. Use an offset spatula to spread about ¼ cup of apricot filling over the dough, leaving about a 1” border from the edge. (This will help prevent the filling from seeping out.)  Sprinkle with half of the walnuts, half of the sugar/spice mixture and 1 tablespoon of the finely chopped crystallized ginger. Use a bench scraper or a pastry cutter to divide the dough into twelve even triangles. Return the dough to the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Repeat the process with the second circle of dough. (You will be able to fit twenty four rugelach on a standard size half sheet baking sheet which measures 12” x 17”.)
 
Retrieve the dough from the fridge again and dip a clean offset spatula in flour. (The dough gets sticky when it is soft.) Use the offset to help roll up each triangle of dough so it forms a crescent, placing the rugelach on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I double pan these when I bake them meaning, I place the parchment lined baking sheet with the rugelach on top of a second baking sheet of the same size. This helps prevent the bottoms from getting too dark.
 
Place the double panned baking sheets on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake the rugelach for 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Depending on your oven, they may need an additional minute or two. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and place on a cooling rack. If you wish, you can glaze the tops of the cookies with a little melted apricot jam and sprinkle with additional walnut pieces and minced crystallized ginger.