Raspberry Almond Rugelach

Freshly baked rugelach is something truly to die for.  Soft, slightly sweet, with a hint of almond, and a slight tang from the raspberry jam, you really can't just have one and say you are good to go.  I've been wanting to make these for awhile now but, never really found the time.  From all the homework to the exams that I had this month, I rarely have time to bake or cook anything at all.

I finally had a week off from exams this week so I thought to myself, "why not make something special to start off the week?"  I've been talking about baking these for almost a month now and everytime my roommates come up with the same response "MAKE THEM!!!".  The reason for not making them, is that the recipe requires a lot of ingredients that I don't usually have a lot of on hand: like the almonds and cream cheese.  Today, I finally bought a box of cream cheese and a bag of whole almonds just for my Raspberry Almond Rugelach.  

The first time I had Rugelach was when I was in high school and from then on, I could never get enough of them.  These cookies are one of those type of cookies/desserts that you cannot have just one.  I ate three by the time my second batch was done.

Raspberry Almond Rugelach Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter (softened)
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup almonds (crushed into powder)
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam
• 
  
• 1/2 cup Wilton Edible Decorations Sprinkles Sparkling Sugar

Directions:

1. With a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese.  Add in vanilla and continue to cream.
2. Add in powder sugar, cinnamon, all-purpose flour, and almond powder.  Mix with the paddle attachment until everything is fully incorporate and a soft dough is formed.
3. Wrap dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
4. After 2 hours, preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
5. Divide the dough in half.  On a floured surface, with a rolling pin, roll out the portion of dough into a circle 1/4 in thick.  Spread half of the jam on and spread it evenly around the rolled out dough keeping 1/2 inch of the edge free of jam.
6. With a pizza cutter, cut the circle into 16 triangular pieces. (Cut in half and divide the half into 8 separate triangular pieces) Roll the piece of dough from the edge of the circle to the center.  
7. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle on Wilton's Sparkling Sugar.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cookie is slightly golden.  Remove from oven and transfer to a wired cooling rack.