Snickerdoodle Rugelach with Cranberry Orange Pecan Filling
What is a Snickerdoodle cookie?
I’ve been asked this question a few times. My first answer is always “the most delicious cookie EVER!” That’s not very helpful though. So let’s discuss the best cookie in the world.
The Snickerdoodle cookie flavor is a mix between a sweet sugar cookie and a buttery cookie. Then to make it all perfect, you top the little morsel with lots of cinnamon. So good.
I first learned about a Snickerdoodle thanks to my Grammy. She made them for me and even sent care packages when I was miles away.
Thanks to Grandma, I have her special recipe. I’ll share the recipe on the next blog. We should keep the Snickerdoodle love alive with more cookie love.
Wait, we gave Snickerdoodle all the attention but we need to chat about why we combined Snickerdoodle with a traditional Rugelach cookie. Rugelach is a pastry normally enjoyed during Hanukah. The filling in a Rugelach pastry is usually brown sugar and raisins mixed and topped over apricots. I know each recipe is unique but when you combine the two different buttery recipes it becomes the perfect combination.
Noah and Morgan, in Her Snickerdoodle (Man Card Book 14) were competing in a holiday competition. Not a Christmas competition. So their cookie tower is sure to grab everyone’s heart.
For this recipe, you experience a serious cookie fusion. Since Noah makes an award-winning Snickerdoodle batter, he had a wacky idea to combine the traditional Rugelach recipe and his special Snickerdoodle recipe. The fusion worked.
The dough for both cookies is light, buttery, and melts-in-your-mouth. To give the recipe some serious holiday flare, Morgan mixed up her special cranberry compote for the filling.
Noah and Morgan decided on the recipe. I had to then create the delicious dessert.
I’m happy to report, hubby gave them his stamp of approval.
Are you ready to enjoy one?
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Snickerdoodle Rugelach with Cranberry Orange Pecan Filling
Recipe Created by Terra Kelly
Prep: 20-25 minutes
Inactive: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook: 20-25 minutes
Makes 16 cookies
Ingredients
Dough:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
14 Tbsp (almost 1 cup) butter flavored shortening, softened
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
Filling:
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup packed brown sugar
Juice of one orange (about 1/3 cup)
Zest of an orange
1 cup pecans, chopped
½ tsp cinnamon
For top of cookie:
One egg for egg wash
3 Tbsp white granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
In a medium bowl- Mix together cream cheese, butter flavored shortening, vanilla, and sugar.
In a small bowl- Mix together flour, cream of tartar, salt, and cinnamon.
Add Flour mixture to wet ingredients. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Use hands to bring dough together. If the dough is dry or breaks apart easily, add one tablespoon of butter flavored shortening (add one tablespoon at a time and mix together well). Note: dough should be soft but not sticky, and mold into a ball easily. Once well incorporated, gather the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for one hour.
In a sauce pan, add fresh cranberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, orange zest, and juice of one orange. Cook for about five minutes or until cranberries pop and are soft enough to mash with a potato masher. Add chopped pecans and let cranberry compote cool to thicken. You could chill it in the freezer to quickly cool the mixture before placing it on top of the cookie dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough in a circle about 9-12 inches in diameter. Spread cooled cranberry compote evenly over dough. With a pizza cutter, cut into even wedges. (I was able to cut 16 even wedges with this recipe.)
The dough is soft, so carefully do the next step. From the wider end of the wedge, roll the dough down to the small point. Place all the cookies, with point facing down, on the prepared cookie sheet and chill for 30 minutes.
Brush egg wash on top of each chilled cookie and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on the oven. (I use a gas oven, so for you it could take only 15-20 minutes. Check at the 15-minute mark.) The cookies should be golden brown in appearance.
Let cool and enjoy!
Note: There are 16 tablespoons in a container of butter flavored shortening. I used 14 tablespoons. The 16 tablespoons equal one cup per container. I wanted to share this to help with measurements.
If you can’t find butter flavored shortening, you could use half the amount of shortening and half the amount of butter. However, you will want to use some shortening for a better dough mixture.
It is important to use brown sugar in the cranberry compote to help thicken the compote and caramelize the mixture.