APPLE BUTTER RUGELACH

Yes, it’s me! I’m back with a new recipe after taking a break from the blog for the past, oh I don’t know, 9 months? But time flies when you feel like you just want to devote posting anything new strictly to Instagram as well as attempting to make Reels that will appeal to Gen Z. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then I envy you greatly and let’s just all be thrilled that I have something new in this corner of the internet.

Another reason why I’ve been a bit pre-occupied is because I’m pregnant (!) and expecting a baby girl by the end of the year - she may have the same birthday as me or might even be a New Year’s Eve baby. I’m almost in my third trimester, which is wild, but Alex and I are very happy and cannot wait to meet our girl in about 12 weeks. I luckily never had any nausea, but at the same time, I haven’t had any fun pregnancy cravings (bummer!), so my baking throughout this journey has stayed about the same. If anything, I’m cooking a lot more dinners and getting ready to prepare a ton of freezer meals for when the baby is here. Exciting information, I know.

Anyway! Today’s recipe is one that is very near and dear to me simply because it’s literally one of my favorite things to eat in the whole world, and I cannot believe I hadn’t posted a recipe for it yet. The recipe is for rugelach, a popular Jewish pastry, that is essentially a cookie made out of a buttery, cream cheese dough that is filled with either jams, chocolate, nuts, dried fruits, or a combination of all of these. My go-to flavors when I visit a Jewish bakery are either apricot jam, cinnamon or chocolate filled, but honestly, I love them all and have yet to try a flavor that I didn’t enjoy. Although we’re not Jewish, my mom, sister and I all have a huge love for Jewish pastries, including babka, danishes, macaroons, and sufganiyah, so rugelach is something that I’ve happily eaten for years. Although I think it’s just about the best pastry in the world, not everyone knows about them, especially those who aren’t Jewish and I think that’s just about a crime. When I first started dating Alex. I had asked if he had ever tried them and he thought I was asking him about “arugula”, which still to this day makes me laugh.

Unlike chocolate chip cookies where you portion out scoops of cookie dough to bake off, rugelach is kind of treated like a pie dough in that it is formed into a disc and then is rolled out and shaped into either crescent or rectangular spirals. For this recipe, I chose to make crescents which are formed by rolling the dough into a very thin - about 1/8th of an inch thick - circle. That’s about 10 inches in diameter, if you have a ruler lying around. Rugelach dough at first is very sticky and therefore needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours before rolling it out and shaping it, but I prefer just leaving it in the fridge overnight.

When it comes to rolling out the dough, don’t worry about making a *perfect* circle; I definitely don’t excel at rolling out doughs and usually end up with wonky edges and some cracks, but trust me when I say, it’ll still taste perfect in the end. Same goes for the filling and rolling of each individual cookie: some of the filling might “spill” out and even leak when baking in the oven, but that is totally normal and actually a good thing because it leads to a caramelized bottom that tastes amazing. I have made rugelach numerous times, and it’s rare that I get uniform cookies and that’s the beauty of them; each one is unique and has its own rustic look to it. Bottom line: rugelach is a very forgiving recipe and you shouldn’t be concerned with messing it up.

As for the filling, I decided that because it’s October and we’re starting to get cozy vibes here in California (I’m joking, it’s 77° and sunny here today), I wanted to put an autumn-spin on these. Instead of doing a simple raspberry or apricot jam, I chose to use apple butter, which is pretty much applesauce that is more cooked down and caramelized, as well as a mix of toasted chopped pecans/walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. It’s a fairly simple flavor combination, but tastes incredible and makes the whole house smell like fall when it’s baking in the oven. You can choose to make your own apple butter (here’s a link to my own recipe) or you can save yourself some time and buy it at the market. Another option would be to use pumpkin butter instead, which I’m fairly certain Trader Joe’s is selling right now. But feel free to save this recipe for the rugelach dough base and use any filling as you please in the future!

APPLE BUTTER RUGELACH

Makes 24 rugelach - recipe can easily be doubled

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

For the filling:

• 1/2 cup apple butter, homemade or store bought

• 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts

• 2 tbsp. sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

To finish:

• 1 lrg. egg mixed w/ 1 tsp. water (egg wash)

• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer) cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth, about a minute or two. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Mix to combine. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour and mix until incorporated. Turn off the mixer and transfer the sticky dough to a floured surface and shape it into a ball. Cut the dough in half and shape each half into about an inch thick disc and wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours, but preferably overnight.

2. Prepare the filling: In a small bowl, combine the chopped nuts, sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. Take one of the chilled doughs out of the fridge, unwrap it, and place it on a floured surface. Allow it to soften a bit for 5-10 minutes for easier rolling. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into about a 10-inch circle (does not need to be perfect!), which will be about an 1/8 of an inch thick. Spread half (1/4 cup) of the apple butter on the dough, leaving about 1/4in. border all around, and then spread half of the nut/sugar mixture over the apple butter.

4. Using a pizza/pastry cutter or sharp knife (I prefer the former), cut the circle into 12 even triangles. Roll each triangle into a crescent by starting at the wider edge and working your way toward the center (narrow side). Place each rugelach crescent on a parchment-lined baking sheet, with the crescent points facing down. Pop the baking sheet in the fridge while you work on the second dough disc.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp. of sugar and 3/4 tsp. of cinnamon - this is for finishing the rugelach. Take out the first set of rugelach from the fridge and brush each cookie with the egg wash and then give a generous sprinkling of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Bake in the oven for 22-28 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat steps 3-5 for the second dough disc*.

   * I like to work on the second disc of dough while the first batch of rugelach is in the oven. Chill this dough for at least 10 minutes before popping it in the oven.

DEEP DISH APPLE PIE

The time has finally come: today I am giving you my FIRST pie recipe after having my blog for over 1.5 years!!! I’ve mentioned numerous times before that pies are just simply not my strong suit and therefore why I’ve been putting it off for so long. My initial goal was to have this recipe up before Thanksgiving, mostly because I promised you all that I would, but of course, with my luck, this didn’t happen. I had made a pie to shoot for this post and although it tasted incredible, crust included, the pie pretty much fell apart while baking. In the end, I simply couldn’t use it to photograph for the blog. To say that I was bummed out is a serious understatement because I had zero time to redo it before the holiday, but mostly because I knew that the recipe was great but I just had trouble executing it. So this last Friday, my very generous and skilled pie-maker aunt, Katia, came over and showed me the way to reach pie success and I couldn’t be happier with the final result. Moral of the story: when all else fails, hopefully you have an aunt that will help you.

Despite my mishap with my prior bake, I actually know a lot (re: TOO MUCH) about pie dough, pie filling, etc. After much research and comparing various recipes across the internet and in my personal cookbook collection, I’ve pulled together tips that I think will give you the most successful pie. If I could conquer cheesecakes and all the nuances that comes with baking those monsters, I knew that pies had to be my next mountain to conquer. I believe, after multiple failed attempts, I have tackled pies.

Apple pie à la mode has been in my top 5 favorite desserts for as long as I can remember. Strawberry pie’s great and chocolate silk pie is delicious and decadent but apple pie? Apple pie is perfection. With beautifully baked apples, hints of warm spices, and a flaky, buttery double-crust, no other pie beats apple pie. Therefore, it was an obvious choice for which pie recipe to introduce you all to first on The Vivid Kitchen.

Much like my cheesecake recipes where I gave you multiple tips to executing a perfect cheesecake, I also have a laundry list of tips when it comes to the pie dough, as well as actually baking the pie. Here they are:

1. When making the dough, you can either use your hands, a pastry cutter, or a food processor when it comes to cutting in the butter. I personally use a combo of a pastry cutter and my hands, which I think is your safest bet to avoiding overworking the dough. And when I add the ice water, I only use my hands so I could get a feel for whether I needed more water or not. It’s also vital that your ingredients, namely the butter and water, are very cold! I actually use frozen butter but straight from the fridge is fine.

2. After making your pie dough, you need to refrigerate it for at least two hours before rolling it out. Once properly chilled, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes so it won’t be brittle when rolling out. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 5 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Just make sure they are properly wrapped in plastic.

3. When rolling out the dough, roll the pin only away from you, not back and forth. This ensures that the dough will be rolled out evenly. Also, after every couple of rolls, rotate the dough (pick it up off the floured-surface and rotate it) as to prevent it from sticking.

4. When it comes to which kind of apple to use, I would suggest apples that are on the tart side, like Granny Smith or Pink Lady. Other options that are a bit sweeter are Honeycrisp or Braeburn. And when it comes to slicing your apples, which you want to be very thin, like 1/4” thick, I highly recommend using a mandolin. Equally thin apple slices will prevent under cooked apples.

5. Thicken the apple pie filling with flour. I know some people add cornstarch instead but I actually read that adding flour is best for apple pies in particular, because apples are a less juicier fruit. And in order to prevent the pie from being too sweet as well as keeping the apples from browning, add a bit of apple cider vinegar. You could use lemon juice instead if you don’t have it.

6. Once your pie is filled and the top crust is added (with whichever topping design you choose to do), freeze the entire pie for at least 30 minutes before popping it in the oven. This locks in the design that you’ve chosen as well as keeps the butter from leaking while baking.

7. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven while it preheats, and place the pie on it while it bakes. This helps not only if there is any juice spills from the pie but most importantly, it combats the dreaded “soggy bottom” that all pie bakers try to avoid.

8. Bake the pie at a higher temperature at first (425°F) in order to set the dough, and then bring it down to 375°F for the remainder.

9. Use a pie shield or a makeshift foil ring if the edges of the pie brown faster than the center.

10. When the pie is baked, allow the pie to cool COMPLETELY before cutting into it. This is very hard to do because I know we all want a piece of warm apple pie with melted vanilla ice cream on top, but you can always warm up each slice after cutting.

Not too bad, right?

If you have no desire to do a double-crust apple pie or it all seems like too much work, then simply half the pie dough recipe below and do a streusel/crumb topping. I have no complaints when it comes to an apple crumb pie.

I know we’re well past Thanksgiving but apple pie is definitely Christmas dinner appropriate, so hopefully this recipe and my tips will come in handy for you!

All-Butter Pie Crust

Makes enough for a double-crust pie

Recipe adapted from NY Times Cooking

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp. fine salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold (preferably frozen) and cut into small pieces

• 1/2 cup ice water, may use more or less

Directions

1. In the largest bowl you have, mix the flour and salt together. Add the butter pieces and gently toss them so they get coated with the flour.

2. Using a pastry cutter and/or your hands, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly and the butter pieces resemble the size of a pea.

3. Make a well in the center, and begin to add the water in 1 tablespoon at a time. After each addition, gently stir the water in with either your hands or a wooden spoon. Depending on the climate in which you are making the dough, you may use all of the 1/2 cup of water or even more (if it’s dry, the flour will need more water versus a humid climate that wouldn’t need as much). You’ll know when the dough is ready when a handful holds together and doesn’t crumble. The dough will not be wet or sticky, but still a bit dry.

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it a couple of times until it comes together. Form the dough into a ball and cut it in half, and then form those halves into discs. Tightly wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. The dough can refrigerate for up to 5 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months (thaw overnight if you choose to freeze them).

Deep Dish Apple Pie

Yields (1) 9-inch deep dish, double-crust pie

Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine

Ingredients

• All-Butter Pie Crust (recipe above)

• 3.5 lbs. apples, peeled and sliced very thinly (Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Granny Smith are good options) - *best way to get even, thin slices is by using a mandolin

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark works)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

• 1/8 tsp. allspice

• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice (I strongly recommend the former)

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 1 large egg

• Turbinado sugar

• Vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, to finish

Directions

1. Take out one of the pie dough discs from the refrigerator and let it sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about a 13 inch diameter. Make sure to rotate the dough every couple of turns and to roll the rolling pin away from you, not back and forth.

2. Gently pick up the rolled out dough (best way to do this is by rolling it onto the rolling pin itself) and place it in a 9-inch deep dish pie dish (glass, ceramic, or aluminum work fine). Press the dough into the corners of the dish and leave the excess dough hanging over. Refrigerate while working on the apple filling.

3. Combine the apple slices, both sugars, flour, spices, salt and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) in a large bowl. Transfer the filling into the chilled pie dish - I would avoid just dumping the apples in and rather suggest using your hands to mindfully stack the apples into even layers as to prevent empty pockets. Do not flatten the apple slices but form them into a dome instead. Scatter the 2 tbsp. of butter pieces over the apples.

4. Take out the second pie dough disc, let it sit out for 10 minutes, and roll it out to about a 12 inch diameter. You have the choice to do whatever you want for the top crust… you can do a lattice like I did or leave it as is. If you’re not doing a lattice, make sure to cut about 4-5 slits around the center of the top crust to allow steam to escape. Place the pie in the freezer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F, move the rack to the bottom of your oven, and place a rimmed baking sheet on top.

5. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and 1 tbsp. of water and brush this over the top crust. Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.

6. Bake the pie on the preheated baking sheet at 425°F for 30 minutes, then rotate the pie, drop the temperature to 375°F and bake for another 30-40 more minutes. The pie will be done when the crust is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling. If any part of the top crust is browning too quickly, gently tent foil over the top or use a pie shield.

7. Allow the pie to cool completely before cutting into it. Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

APPLE RICOTTA TARTS W/ HOMEMADE CARAMEL

This Sunday is my boyfriend Alex’s 33rd birthday and I cannot wait to shower him with all the love that he deserves. We’ll be celebrating with family on Saturday with a boat ride in Newport Beach, as well as a trip to Big Bear next weekend with a group of friends, so on his actual day, he and I are going to take it easy. I plan on starting his day off with bagels and cold brew, then hitting up the beach or going on a hike, and finally ending with dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, Nick’s in Laguna Beach. He also requested that I make my cheesecake for dessert (it’s his favorite recipe on this blog) and of course I am happy to oblige.

Like every year, Alex’s birthday also represents the beginning of autumn, which usually falls on his actual birthday, the 22nd, or the next day. Because of this, I believe it allows for the floodgates to open for apple recipes even though I’m fairly certain I could, and would, eat apple pie every day. So far on this blog, I’ve shared with you recipes for an apple brown butter buckle, apple muffins, apple cider doughnuts, and finally. a simple apple tart/galette. Today’s apple recipe may also be considered a ‘tart’ but differs in the fact that the base is not a pie dough, but actually puff pastry.

Puff pastry, also known as pâte feuilletée, is essentially a laminated dough, meaning the butter is incorporated into the dough by a series of folding and rolling, thus leading to multiple layers. When baked, the layers separate and puff up, leaving you with a very light and flaky texture. Making homemade puff pastry is a serious undertaking and something that I’m more than happy (at this point in time) to skip out on. What I’m trying to say is that today I am not giving you a recipe for puff pastry to go along with the tart - I am giving you instructions to go buy store bought puff pastry! I created this recipe for those who are 1) in a time crunch 2) don’t have the skills to make homemade puff pastry and/or 3) lazy! I don’t think anyone should feel bad for buying store bought components of a dish and I really believe that it’s the thought that counts.

Store bought puff pastry. which you can get at any grocery store including Trader Joe’s, makes you look like you’re an amazing baker, yet the secret is that you didn’t do more than thawing it, topping it with some ingredients, and baking it in the oven. And if you want, you can totally lie and tell your guests or whomever you’re serving this to that YES, the puff pastry IS made from scratch! Just make sure that you’ve gotten rid of any evidence of the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry packaging - burn it if you have to.

If you’re unfamiliar with buying puff pastry, you should know that it’ll be found in the freezer section of your grocery store and comes with 2 sheets of puff pastry (therefore you can easily double the recipe!), which will need to be thawed out for about 40 minutes before working with it. For my recipe, I ask of you to only use 1 sheet of pastry which you’ll cut into 6 equal rectangles. You could totally make it into one giant tart, but I really enjoy the look of baking them off as individuals and it also makes it much easier for serving purposes. Each puff pastry tart will get a spread of a ricotta cheese mixture that has cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla bean paste in it. If ricotta isn’t your thing, mascarpone or cream cheese could work as well; and if your grocery store doesn’t carry vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract is fine. I went with vanilla bean paste because Trader Joe’s just started carrying it and I thought this recipe would be perfect for it since it showcases the vanilla bean specks so well.

And once again, if you’re feeling guilty for using store bought puff pastry, all will be forgotten when you make your own caramel to top it off with. Homemade caramel is SO simple and requires only 4 ingredients and 10 minutes of your time, so you can make it while the apple tarts bake in the oven. Apples and caramel are a perfect pairing, and since the apple tarts themselves are barely sweetened, you can load up on as much caramel as you want.

Apple Ricotta Puff Pastry Tarts

Yields 6 individual tarts

Ingredients

• 1 puff pastry sheet, thawed and cut into 6 rectangles (I prefer Pepperidge Farm

• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, homemade or store-bought

• 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp. ground or fresh nutmeg

• 1 apple, cored and sliced thin (I used Granny Smith and Pink Lady, but Honeycrisp and Braeburn work as well)

• Brown sugar (light or dark)

• Caramel sauce, to finish (recipe provided below)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and place the 6 puff pastry rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a fork, poke holes in about 4-5 different places on each rectangle.

2. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, vanilla bean paste (or extract), cinnamon and nutmeg together. Add about 1 heaping tablespoon of this spread onto the center of each pastry. Try not to spread it out too much.

3. Place 2-4 slices of apple onto each pastry, right on top of the ricotta cheese mixture. Finish with a heavy sprinkling of brown sugar on top of the fruit.

4. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and is a golden brown color.

5. Transfer to a baking sheet to cool for about 5 minutes before finishing them with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Simple Homemade Caramel Sauce

Yields 1 cup

Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 6 pieces

• 1/2 cup chilled heavy cream

• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions

1. Place the sugar in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, constantly stir the sugar until it completely melts and turns into a deep amber color. Before it melts, it will be very clumpy… this is good, just keep mixing!

2. Add the butter and mix it in with the melted sugar using a whisk. The mixture will begin to bubble vigorously.

3. Once the butter has melted, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Careful with this step because the cold heavy cream may cause the mixture to splatter. Allow the caramel to boil for about one minute, then take it off the heat and stir in the salt.

4. Carefully (it will be VERY hot) pour the caramel into your desired container (mason jar, tupperware, etc.) and store it in the fridge for up to 1 month - if it can last that long.