Puff Pastry Chocolate-Hazelnut Rugelach
Consider these the ultimate pantry cookie: all you really need to buy would be puff pastry and a jar of Nutella and you’re a few steps away from the easiest rugelach ever. Look for puff pastry made with all butter (many are cut with shortening). They can cost a little bit more but that pure butter flavor is worth the price. Puff pastry tends to defrost best on the counter at room temperature but if you’re not sure when you’ll get around to baking you may want to stick it in the fridge to defrost overnight. If at any point during preparation, the pastry gets too soft, stick it back in the fridge to firm up before proceeding.
Ingredients
¼ cup toasted hazelnuts
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 frozen puff pastry sheet (½ of a 17.3-ounce package), thawed according to package directions
? cup Nutella, slightly warmed
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon water
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Process hazelnuts and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a food processor until finely ground, 15 to 20 seconds.
Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar onto a work surface. Roll puff pastry sheet into a 12-inch square. Pierce surface of pastry all over with a fork. Spread Nutella over pastry to within ¼ inch of edges. Sprinkle with ground hazelnut mixture, pressing to adhere. Cut pastry into 16 3-inch squares. Cut each square in half diagonally to form 32 triangles. Starting on the wide side, roll up one triangle; firmly press tip of triangle into pastry to seal. Repeat procedure with remaining triangles. Place pastry rolls, point sides down, 2 inches apart, on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
Whisk together egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl; brush cookies with egg wash. Bake, rotating sheets 180° and top to bottom after 10 minutes, until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets.
Yields: Makes 32 cookies
