Bakery-Style Chocolate Rugelach

It took me quite a while to crack the perfect rugelach: rugelach exactly like the ones from the bakery, stuffed with filling, with dough so thin you can barely see it between the layers. They look beautiful, and everyone who tasted them agreed they were the best rugelach they'd ever had. The secret is to fold the dough after each layer of filling and roll it out thin.

Before you start

• Once you've spread, folded and rolled the dough, it turns brown all the way through. That's exactly how it should look.
• If the dough tears while you roll it, don't worry: there's another round of folding and rolling, and once the rugelach are shaped you won't see the tears.
• This one gets messy, but trust me, it's worth it 🙂

Ingredients for about 15 rugelach

For the dough

• 1 large egg, at room temperature.
• 320 g all-purpose flour (2 cups + 4 tablespoons).
• 10 g instant dry yeast (1 tablespoon).
• 130 ml milk (½ cup + 1 tablespoon).
• 50 g sugar (5 tablespoons).
• 60 g butter, softened and cut into cubes.
• A pinch of salt.

For the filling

• 100 g dark chocolate.
• 50 g milk chocolate.
• 100 g butter.
• 50 g cocoa powder (5 tablespoons).
• 100 g powdered sugar (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons).
• A pinch of salt.

For the syrup

• 100 g sugar (½ cup).
• 120 ml water (½ cup).

For brushing

• 1 egg, beaten.

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the milk, sugar and egg. Beat briefly until combined.
2. Add the flour, yeast and butter. Knead for about 5 minutes, until the butter cubes disappear into the dough.
3. Add the salt and knead on low speed for another 6 minutes or so, until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky.
4. Lightly oil a bowl and put the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for about an hour.
5. Toward the end of the rise, make the filling (it firms up as it sits, so don't make it ahead): in a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Melt in short bursts until completely melted (stir between bursts).
6. Add the powdered sugar, cocoa and salt, and stir into a thick, paste-like filling (thicker than chocolate spread).
7. Shaping: knead the dough briefly to knock out the air and divide it into 2 equal balls (optional, you can also work with it in one piece).
8. Lightly flour your work surface and roll each ball into a rectangle (make sure the dough isn't sticking to the counter).
9. Spread filling evenly over the whole rectangle. Fold the dough in half and roll it out into a rectangle again.
10. Spread another layer of filling over the whole rectangle with an offset spatula, and fold it in half again.
11. Roll it out into a long, thin rectangle (some filling will squeeze out the sides, no need to panic 🙂).
12. With a pizza cutter, cut it into even triangles and roll each one up into a rugelach.
13. Arrange the rugelach on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
14. Let them rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
15. Meanwhile, make the syrup: put the sugar and water in a small saucepan and simmer until slightly thickened.
16. Take it off the heat and set it aside to cool.
17. Gently brush each rugelach with beaten egg and bake in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) for about 20 minutes, or until browned.
18. As soon as the rugelach come out of the oven, brush them generously with the syrup.

Good to know

• How many rugelach you get depends on how big you cut the triangles.
• They freeze beautifully after baking; thaw them whenever you feel like one.
• Roll the dough thin to get thin layers of dough.
• The syrup should be lukewarm when you brush the rugelach.