Food Friday : Cinnamon Crescent Cookies

cinnamon-crescent-cookies

I picked up an old 1986 charity cookbook written by Bonnie Stern at a yard sale a couple of years ago and last year Nick and I made these Cinnamon Crescents from it. These are also known as Rugalahs and they were so good that we have made them again! These are only mildly sweet, so great to try if you prefer things less sugary and geared towards grown-up tastes. They might seem a bit fussy to make but they are really fun to do! And look at me … I helped make the dough, although I left the rolling of it to Nick.

(Readers of my blog will know that Nick is the chef/baker in our home, so this was quite a feat. Of course, he was watching and guiding me all the way through it. And for any other dough-making novices such as myself … you know when they say you ‘feel’ when the dough is ready? I never understood that before, but now I know what they mean … you can actually ‘feel’ when it is done!)

recipe

Cinnamon Crescent Cookies

The Pastry

Ingredients
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 2 cups unbleached flour + some for rolling
  • 250 grams (8 oz) cream cheese, cut into pieces
  • A bit of water if needed, to make the dough a good consistency
Instructions

Make the pastry by cutting the butter and cheese into the flour until crumbly. Gather into a ball and knead a few times (add water if it feels too dry). Divide into 4 balls. Cover with a damp cloth and refrigerate until ready to use.

Description

Delicious cinnamon roll treats

Jam Filling

Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup raspberry jam
  • 1/4 cup orange marmalade (if desired but we really liked it in there)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp cocoa
  • 2/3 finely chopped almonds (we did ours in a food processor)
Instructions

In a bowl, mix together the jam and marmalade. In a second bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa and almonds.

Brushed Glaze Topping

Ingredients part 3
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2/3 cup white sugar for sprinkling over top (that we left out)
Instructions

Beat the eggs and water together with a fork or a whisk.

Roll out one ball of dough on a floured surface. Brush on 1/4 of the jam/marmalade mixture. Sprinkle on 1/4 of the topping. Cut the circle into 16 wedges. Roll them up from the outside edge and place them on an un-buttered parchment paper lined cookie sheet (or a buttered cookie sheet if you don’t have parchment paper). Brush with glaze.

Freeze them to bake later or bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven, until golden. If they were frozen bake for slightly longer.

Description

We modified the recipe as it was originally written so I will give it to you as we made them (however full credit for this recipe goes to Bonnie Stern).

Ingredients part 4
    Instructions part 4
    Sweet crescent rolls, cinnamon rolls

    These are excellent to freeze before baking so you can have them fresh when you want them. Plus, if you bake them when company is visiting they will be overwhelmed by the amazing aroma coming from your kitchen!

    Hope you will try this recipe. They are lovely served with breakfast, as we enjoyed them this morning!

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