Rugelach

My mom, who has always used her mom's recipe, loved these. They can be made in advance and frozen in ziplock bags. (I made these when I was waiting to go into labor with Max, and we served them at the Bris)

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 9 3/4 hr (includes chilling dough)

Yield: Makes about 44 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter,softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup apricot preserves or raspberry jam

1 cup loosely packed golden raisins, chopped

1 1/4 cups walnuts (1/4 lb), finely chopped

Milk for brushing cookies

Special equipment: parchment paper; a small offset spatula

Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined well.

Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.

Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, then flatten (in wrap) into a roughly 7- by 5-inch rectangle. Chill until firm, 8 to 24 hours.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of a 1- to 1 1/2-inch-deep large shallow baking pan with parchment paper.

Cut dough into 4 pieces. Chill 3 pieces, wrapped in plastic wrap, and roll out remaining piece into a 12- by 8-inch rectangle on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin.

Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment, then transfer to a tray and chill while rolling out remaining dough in same manner, transferring each to another sheet of parchment and stacking on tray.

Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.

Arrange 1 dough rectangle on work surface with a long side nearest you.

Spread 1/4 cup preserves evenly over dough with offset spatula. Sprinkle 1/4 cup raisins and a rounded 1/4 cup walnuts over jam, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar.

Using parchment as an aid, roll up dough tightly into a log. Place, seam side down, in lined baking pan, then pinch ends closed and tuck underneath. Make 3 more logs in same manner and arrange 1 inch apart in pan.

Brush logs with milk and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of remaining granulated sugar.

With a sharp large knife, make 3/4-inch-deep cuts crosswise in dough (not all the way through) at 1-inch intervals. (If dough is too soft to cut, chill until firmer, 20 to 30 minutes.)

Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to warm in pan on a rack, about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board and slice cookies all the way through.