Hazelnut Rugelach {Thanksgivukkah}

This tasty variation on a Jewish favorite combines hazelnuts and coconut sugar instead of the traditional walnuts or raisins. My enthusiastic Kitchen Elf made these (almost) completely by himself!

For the dough:

1 C butter, at room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

2 C white whole wheat flour

For the filling:

1 1/2 C hazelnuts

3/4 C organic coconut sugar

ground cinnamon
ground cardamom
ground nutmeg
splash of pure vanilla extract

4 T butter, melted and cooled

For the topping:

1/4 C organic granulated sugar

ground cinnamon

1 egg white, beaten

To make the dough combine the butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth. Add the flour and, with a spatula, mix until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. 

Using floured hands, cut into 4 equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a disk and wrap separately in waxed paper. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or as long as overnight.

Preheat an oven to 375°F. Let the dough warm a bit to make it easier to roll out.

To make the filling, finely chop your hazelnuts. Mix in the coconut sugar, spices, and vanilla.

Flour 1 dough disk and place between 2 sheets of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, press into a round 10 inches in diameter. Remove the top sheet, cut the round into 12 wedges, brush the dough with the melted butter, then sprinkle with the nut mixture. 

Starting at the wide end, roll up each wedge. Place on a prepared baking sheet or baking stone, arranging the cookies point-side down and about 1 inch apart.

To make the topping, in a small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Brush the cookies with the egg white–water mixture, then sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar topping.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough - filling, topping, and baking. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. This made exactly 4 dozen cookies.

After the Kitchen Elf and Nonna were eliminated from our Thanksgivukkah dreidel game, they comforted themselves by munching on the hazelnut rugelach - straight from the tupperware!