Apple Walnut Roll Cookies

Roll cookies filled with apples and walnuts, made with a tender, crumbly dough that goes beautifully with the filling. As someone who isn't a fan of pastries with fruit, I have to say they came out perfect, and they were gone before I'd even posted the recipe. These are easy cookies, and they're just right for Rosh Hashanah.

Ingredients for about 30 apple roll cookies

For the dough

• 100 g softened butter.
• 1 large egg.
• 100 g sugar (½ cup).
• 280 g all-purpose flour (2 cups).
• 5 g baking powder (1 teaspoon).
• A pinch of salt.

For the apple filling

• 3 red apples.
• 40 g butter.
• 30 g white sugar (3 tablespoons).
• 25 g demerara sugar (2½ tablespoons).
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional).
• 60 g walnuts, coarsely chopped.

Instructions

1. Start with the dough: in a wide bowl, whisk the egg, sugar and salt well.

2. Add the flour and baking powder and work them in by hand until you have small crumbs.

   

3. Add the softened butter (the butter must be soft) and knead until you have a smooth, even, pleasant dough.

   

4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, make the filling: peel the apples, grate them on a box grater and squeeze out the liquid.

6. Melt the butter in a wide skillet over low heat. Add the grated apples and stir until they're all coated in butter.

7. Add the sugars and cinnamon and stir. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, until all the liquid has evaporated and you have a thick, dark mixture.

   

   

8. Move it to another dish and let it cool.

9. Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into 4 equal balls (don't try to roll out a large amount of dough, because it will tear).

10. Dust a ball of dough and the work surface with a little flour. Roll each ball into a thin sheet and straighten the edges.

11. Spread the apple filling down the middle, leaving the edges with no filling at all.

12. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top, and use a bench scraper to fold the edges over the filling (see the photo).

    

13. Slide the bench scraper under the dough and gently roll it into a log (if any tears form, press them closed with your hands).

14. Cut each log into medium cookies.

    

15. Arrange the cookies with space between them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

16. Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) for about 25 minutes.

17. Let cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

Good to know

• Try not to use a lot of flour on the balls of dough, because flour affects the final texture of the cookies.
• You can skip the walnuts or swap them for almonds.
• Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.