Not all of these photos were taken on my iphone, but most were. Here’s what went down…
The sun shined.
The boys fished.
The girls crafted.
Or read.
We celebrated Hanukkah
and exchanged gifts.
I received some lovely things from Isaac’s family.
So excited about all of them!!
We celebrated more.
Then we came home…
To make the fact we had to leave the beach a bit brighter, upon arrival home I was greeted with a LOVE drop (AKA a box of delicious granola) from the lovely crew over at Love Grown Foods. Merry Christmas to me.
As you can see, I already dug into Cocoa Goodness. <-- It's my favorite flavor!
Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas eve?!? Ready or not here it comes.
Boy do I have a delicious little treat for you this morning. Over the weekend I tried my hand at baking my first-ever batch of Rugelach and let’s just say that it definitely won’t be my last! Something that tastes this good has to be made more than once a year.
Rugelach is a Jewish pastry that literally means “little twist” in Yiddish. I went the traditional route and made crescent shaped rugelach with real butter, sugar, cream cheese and chocolate. <–What some might call the good stuff! I’m all for healthifying recipes but since this was my first time making rugelach I stuck with the real deal. I wanted it to be authentic and taste amazing as I was making it for Isaac’s family.
I tweeted for rugelach recipes and ended up using this recipe from Martha Stewart. I followed the recipe for the most part, however for one batch of the dough I took it upon myself to make Nutella rugelach. I saw the jar in the pantry and simply couldn’t resist. It was calling my name.
3 words – A MAAY ZING! The nutella filling was incredible paired with the pastry dough and walnut mixture, however I also really liked the apricot/chocolate filling. Apricot is one of my favorite jams and chocolate is well… chocolate, so it makes sense that the combo was delicious.
The process of making the rugelach was pretty easy. Although, I did have to google “how to roll pastry dough out in a circle” after having my first disk of dough roll out into quite an odd shape. Thank goodness for google!
I’m not sure if most folks consider rugelach a cookie, but Isaac said it could be soooo… I’m going to roll with it and have it be the featured cookie for Day 6!
Nutella Rugelach
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of coarse salt
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1. Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Remove from bowl, and divide into 3 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.
2. Make the filling: In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Spread evenly with nutella (it may help to have the nutella a bit melted so it doesn’t tear the dough while spreading). Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture. Gently press ingredients into dough with your fingers.
4. Cut the round into 16 equal-sized wedges (triangle shaped like pizza slices). Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg white. Bake until golden brown, 25 minutes.
Nutella rugelach sitting in the dusting of snow we got this weekend.
Saturday night we went over to Isaac’s parent’s house to celebrate Hanukkah with the fam and I surprised them with my homemade rugelach. I’d say it was a hit considering we left when an empty container.
For dinner everyone enjoyed latkes again. Isaac’s mom (Ellen) and I wanted something a little healthier so I picked up some Whole Foods spinach and feta latkes with sides from the hot bar: garlicky kale, marinated veggies and my fave, Cracklin’ Cauliflower.
Post dinner and candle lighting, it was time for presents.
Isaac got his mom Vibrams and she couldn’t stop smiling.
As you can see, Isaac was surprised and thrilled to find out he got a Madolin!! He’s been wanting one for years.
I’ve received some lovely Hanukkah gifts as well – including a Threads for Thought tee, hiking sneakers, a Hand Blender and this lovely tea kettle.
I’ve already put almost all my presents to good use – I wore the tee the day after I received it (so soft and comfy), made soup with the hand blender last night and I’ve been drinking tea and hot water like it’s my job. The only thing I haven’t used are the hiking boots and for good reason – baby, it’s cold outside.
I definitely feel loved and life is good! Tomorrow I’ll be back with more reader submitted holiday cookies.
Thought I would pop in to say Happy Hanukkah to everyone who celebrates. Isaac, Olive and I went over to his parents house to eat latkes, light candles and other fun Hanukkah traditions. <–(aka watch the dogs unwrap their presents, which is hilarious btw). Isaac’s mom had three types of latkes for us to enjoy [...]
Yesterday evening I kicked off the first night of Hanukkah with Isaac and his family at a friend of the families home. We started the evening with a glass of wine and the lighting of the menorahs. There were enough menorahs for everyone to light one. Quite the Festival of Lights! It was also Shabbat [...]
I’m going to do this post in turbo mode because I have to go to work today. After having 4 days off I almost forgot that I have this thing called a job. By the way… how is Monday already people? Actually, how is it already DECEMBER? I’m excited about the latter because the count [...]
Brittany Mullins, HHC
