Grain-Free Rugelach

Grain-Free Rugelach

Grain-Free Rugelach (with dairy-free option)

Happy Holidays!! 🙂

The holidays can be a total baking bonanza for me and I’m sure for many of you, too. And as much as I adore baking, it can get a bit hectic and I dare say tedious around this time—you can only make so many pumpkin pies and not long to create something new! That’s why I decided to revisit Rugelach and work on this delicious grain free version of it.

Grain-Free Rugelach

I had forgotten how amazing these little pastry cookies are! So many beautiful, delicate flavors and not too sweet, which I love. And Grain-Free Rugelach are just wonderful paired with a strong coffee, black tea or dark chocolate cocoa. I made these two ways—crescent and pinwheel shaped. I found that I prefer the pinwheel as you can make many more in a shorter amount of time and the “roll-up” aspect of it is easier. That being said, the crescents are lovely if you have the extra time. I dusted mine with some grain-free powdered sugar— I really wanted to drizzle white chocolate over the pinwheels(!), but I decided that less was more here, perhaps foolishly;). But the options are endless with fillings—chocolate, jams, cinnamon sugar, dried fruits and nuts, all wonderful choices. And these make the perfect holiday gift—a kraft bakery bag with some ribbon and you’re all set! Hope you enjoy the the recipe and have a wonderful and safe holiday, Happy Baking!

*Note that these can be made dairy-free by subbing Earth Balance for the Butter and Daiya instead of traditional cream cheese and any milk substitute.

Grain-Free Rugelach

 

Whisk together almond flour, potato starch, sugar, guar gum and salt. Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut (or pulse) butter into flour, then add cubed cream cheese and also cut into flour. Add egg, milk, vanilla and work into dough. Dough will be sticky, similar to play-doh. Roll dough out in between two pieces of parchment paper. Grain-Free Rugelach

Spread rolled out dough with jam, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, currants and nuts. For the crescent shape, cut dough into long pizza-like slices and lift the parchment paper forward to assist the rolling process. This will keep the dough from breaking up.Grain-Free RugelachFor the spiral rugelach, you will want to form a log. Using the parchment paper, roll dough from the shorter edge forward like a yule log. Then gently tighten the dough log at the base so it will not come loose. Cut cookies about 1/2 inch in thickness as shown in photo. You can mend any breaks in the dough with a touch of water. Grain-Free Rugelach

Use spatula to transfer rugelach to parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden. Let the cookies cool before transferring to plate. Enjoy!

Grain-Free Rugelach
Grain Free 7
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Grain Free 7

Grain-Free Rugelach


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  • Author: Lila Ruth
  • Total Time: 55 min
  • Yield: 10-12 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups Almond Flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
  • 1 cup Potato Starch (Not Potato Flour).
  • 2 tablespoons Sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Guar Gum
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Egg + 1 Egg yolk
  • 1/4 cup Cold Butter, Cubed
  • 1/4 cup Cream Cheese, Chilled + Cubed (or Daiya for Dairy-Free)
  • 2 tablespoons Milk or Milk Substitute (Almond, Soy, Rice, etc.)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • FILLING:
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
  • Jar of Favorite Preserves (Apricot, Strawberry, etc.)
  • 3/4 cup Dried Currants

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Whisk together almond flour, potato starch, sugar, guar gum and salt.
  3. Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut (or pulse) butter into flour, then add cubed cream cheese and also cut into flour.
  4. Add egg, milk, vanilla and work into dough. Dough will be sticky, similar to play-doh.
  5. Roll dough out in between two pieces of parchment paper. Then spread dough with jam, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts.
  6. For the spiral Rugelach, you will want to form a log. Using the parchment paper, gently roll dough from the shorter edge forward like a yule log. Then gently tighten the dough log at the base so it will not come loose. Cut cookies about 1/2 inch in thickness as shown in photo. You can mend any breaks in the dough with a touch of water.
  7. If you prefer the crescent look, cut dough into long pizza-like slices and lift the parchment paper forward to assist the rolling process. This will keep the dough from breaking up.
  8. Use spatula to transfer rugelach to parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden. Let the cookies cool before transferring to plate. Enjoy!
  • Prep Time: 40 min
  • Cook Time: 15 min

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4 Comments

    1. Thank you so much! I think using the following variation without the guar gum should work well: I would use tapioca in place of the potato starch, that should increase the elasticity. And just to make sure the dough isn’t too loose, use 1 tablespoon of milk instead of two. You can always add it in later if you feel you need it. I hope this helps and you enjoy the rugelach! 🙂

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