Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach

Today’s post is May’s submission to our monthly theme posts.

This is how it words; we are a group of bloggers participating in a monthly project. Every month one of us picks a theme and each of us post a recipe based on that month’s theme. All the recipes will be featured on my Facebook page so be sure to check there daily.

December was The 12 Cakes of December
January was Dippin' Through January
February was Love and Food
March was Celebrating Green and Welcoming Spring
April was Chocolate
May, in honor of Mother’s Day, is Mother’s Favorite Dish. Today it’s my turn.

Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach

I’m not sure I know what my mom’s favorite dish is. I know she doesn’t like scallops or mint, loves licorice, spicy foods and chocolate paired with raspberry. Her favorite meals to cook for larger groups was always Italian food and a variation of her spaghetti sauce is College Boy’s favorite meal. Whenever there are special occasions, Mom is always asked to bake. Her desserts are impressive and loved by all.

When I was little my mom baked cookies on Fridays. I once asked her why and she told me that when I was older she wanted me to remember coming home from school on Fridays and being greeted at the door by the smells of cookies baking. I’m convinced she planted the seeds of my habit of baking in times of stress way back then. One of the things she made regularly was Rugelach. It can be made as a log and sliced or rolled up like a crescent roll. The variations of ingredients could be endless. Because it was important to her that I have this childhood memory, and I do, I’m breaking the rules just a bit and instead of making Mom’s favorite dish, I’ve made my own variation of Rugelach: Chocolate Raspberry, for Mom.

preparing the dough

 

ready to go in the oven

As always, if you make one of my recipes, please feel free to take a picture of it and post it on my Facebook wall or my Google + page. And watch for my posts featuring the rest of the Mother’s Favorite Recipes on the dates below:

5/7  Tampa Cake Girl's Peggy's Hummingbird Cake
5/8 Crumbs in my Mustachio's Mom's Favorite Berry Tart
5/9 The Rowdy Baker's Crab Bake Royale



5/13 Hun. . . What's for Dinner?'s Caramelized Onion, Tomato and Goat Cheese Focaccia
5/14 An Affair from the Heart's Banana Cream Jelly Roll
5/15 Cooking from a SAHM's White Wine and Fontina French Onion Soup
5/16 Aunt Bee's Recipes' Southwestern Chicken Linguini Alfredo


 

Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach

                                                                              ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup flour
¼ cup powdered sugar, divided
2 TBSP seedless raspberry jam
1/3 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
 
Directions:
*Beat cream cheese and butter. Stir in flour. Form a ball with the dough (I use my hands), cut in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, flatten and refrigerate for at least an hour.
*Melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips and the raspberry jam in microwave. Stir until smooth.
*Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together.
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
*Sprinkle your rolling surface with powdered sugar. Place each half of the dough separately in the powdered sugar, cover each with the plastic wrap it had been refrigerated in and roll them out into 8 to 9 inch circles (doesn’t have to be perfect).
*Remove plastic wrap and paint each dough circle, using a pastry brush, with the chocolate raspberry mixture, leaving a ¼ inch border around the outer edge. Sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture and, using your hands, press into the chocolate mixture.
*Cut both prepared doughs, like a pizza, into 12 slices. I use a pizza cutter for this.
*Loosening each slice gently from the surface with a spatula, starting with the thick end, roll them up like a crescent. Place, point side down, on baking sheet.
* Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes or until they just barely start to brown. Some of the filling will ooze out while baking.
*Cool one minute on the cookie sheet, then gently remove to a cooling rack or clean piece of parchment.
*Once cookies are cool, melt the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips and drizzle over the cookies.