Holiday Rugelach

I've always seen these little crescent shaped cookies, but have never actually ate one, nor have I had any desire to make them. I've been nearly obsessed with Dorie Greenspan's cookbook lately and came across this recipe, and since it was right in the middle of the holiday season, I figured, why not!?

Rugelach, pronounced ru-ga-la, is a crescent shaped cookie that can be custom made according to your taste bud's preferences. The cream cheese dough can be wrapped around raisins, currants, chocolate, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cinnamon sugar, and apricot or raspberry jam - omit or add ingredients as you desire!

The recipe in Dorie's book included currants, mini chocolate chips, jam, cinnamon sugar, and walnuts so that's what these have in them. I was skeptical at first; how was I supposed to roll this little piece of dough around all these ingredients, but it works! These cookies have so many different tastes, but all together, they're perfect for the holidays :)

Rugelach

Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

For the dough
4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces (See Note below)
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces (See Note below)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling
2/3 cup raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade (I used apricot jam)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds) (I used walnuts)
1/4 cup plump, moist dried currants
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

For the glaze
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cold water
2 tablespoons sugar, preferably coarse sugar

Method:

For the dough
1) Let the cream cheese and butter rest on counter for 10 minutes. It should be slightly softened but cool.
2) Put the flour and salt in a food processor, scatter over the chunks of cream cheese and butter and pulse the machine for 6 to 10 times. Then process, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds. Do not work the dough too long that it forms a ball on the blade.
3) Remove the dough from the food processor, divide into half, shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to a day. (Wrap airtight, the dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.)

To make the filling
1) Heat the jam in a saucepan over low heat, or microwave until it liquefies. Mix sugar and cinnamon together.
2) Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. (Silicone baking mats are great for rugelach.)

To shape the cookies
1) Pull one packet of dough from the refrigerator. If it is too firm to roll easily, leave it on the counter for about 10 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin.
2) On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11- to 12-inch circle. Spoon (or brush) a thin gloss of jam over the dough, and sprinkle over half of the cinnamon sugar.
3) Scatter over half of the nuts, half of the chopped chocolate and half of the currants. Cover the filling with a piece of wax paper and gently press the filling into the dough, then remove the paper and save it for the next batch.
4) Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges, or trigangles. (The easiest way to do this is to cut into quarters, then cut each quarters into 4 pieces.)
5) Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough up so that each triangle becomes a little crescent.
6) Arrange the roll-ups on one baking sheet, making sure the points are tucked under the cookies, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (The cookies can be refrigerate overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; don't defrost before baking, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.)

Getting ready to bake
1) Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degree F.

To glaze
1) Stir the egg and water together. Brush a bit of the glaze over each rugelach. Sprinkle the cookies with sugar.
2) Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until they are puffed and golden.
3) Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

Andddd this would be the aftermath... my mom wasn't too thrilled when she saw her kitchen haha!

Snowball Cookies

Every year my family makes the same Christmas cookies. And every year, we put them in the same Christmas containers. The same cookies, in the same containers. Every year. It's a tradition and we love our tradition!

These are (I think) my favorite cookie. They're melt in your mouth good, packed with chocolate, walnuts, and buttery goodness, and I'm positive they wouldn't taste nearly as good if it weren't the holiday season! They're great too because they yield so many, so they're perfect for giving away - which is by far the best reason to make holiday cookies :) I highly suggest making these, but before you get started, check your fridge and make sure you have 3 sticks of butter.

Mini Chip Snowball Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels
• 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
• Powdered sugar

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

BEAT butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour; stir in morsels and nuts. Shape level tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned. Remove from oven. Sift powdered sugar over hot cookies on baking sheets. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired. Store in airtight containers (preferably your favorite holiday container).

6 Tips for Staying Fit During the Holidays

Brrrrrr! Today was frigid. Right down to the bone cold.

After a weekend of no physical activity and lots of food, I was ready to get back to the gym. But as much as I tried, I couldn't bring myself to walk to the campus gym. That meant about 10 minutes walking in the freezing cold. Not going to happen today. P90X to the rescue!!

I’ve come to realize that going to the gym is half dedication and half willpower. I want the workout and I want the endorphins, enough that I fit a workout into my daily routine as much as humanly possible. However, I understand that it’s really difficult to get back into routine after the holidays and weekends of overeating.

We all know that Thanksgiving is a yearly excuse to overindulge and splurge on that second or third piece of pie, but this one day holiday – not to mention all the holiday parties that come after that - can easily be turned into weeks of lost gym time and unhealthy eating habits. No need to beat yourself up over your fourth helping of mashed potatoes, there are plenty of ways to get yourself back on track to keep those holiday pounds off.

1. Get back to your daily routine All the prep, clean up, and shopping that comes along with the holiday season can interrupt your daily routine, but it only takes a few days to get back into the swing of things. Having a daily routine and setting out times dedicated to working out makes it easier to get motivated. Working out and staying active is essential to keeping holiday pounds off. For those of you who don’t exactly have a daily routine already, now is the time to make the commitment. Set some goals for yourself – even if they're to just get in shape – and work toward those goals by exercising on a daily basis.

2. Go hard Putting off your workouts for a few days won’t necessarily make your pant size go up, but it might make your stamina go down. Rev up your work out so you burn more calories per hour, or add 10-15 minutes onto your cardio. Increasing the intensity of your workout will help burn more calories and fat, and adding a few extra minutes will help shed the pounds.

3. Incorporate weights into your workout Although most people lift weights solely for appearance, “pumping iron” also increases metabolism. The reason for this is simply because more muscle burns more fat. This increased metabolism not only helps burn off calories, but makes it easier for your body to burn off food quicker as you consume it. Stronger muscles can also help make aerobic activities more intense, ultimately burning more calories then too!

4. Nutrition It’s okay to splurge once in a while, aka holidays, but there’s no reason to continue eating leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast. Keep the sweets to a minimum, and try to focus on whole grains, vegetable, fruits, and protein. Use this time between now and New Years to control what you eat. Also, remember that your stomach may have expanded just a tad over Thanksgiving break, so it thinks it needs more food to be full. Try eating smaller meals throughout the day to just satisfy your hunger and help get your stomach back its normal size.

5. Drink water Drinking the recommended amount of water, or more, everyday has so many benefits. It improves your immune system, skin, cell reproduction, organs, reduces fatigue, and much more. It’s especially good for cleansing out toxins and wastes, such as sugars, alcohols, and food chemicals you might have overindulged in over the past week. Be sure to have several glasses of water throughout the day mainly between meals and after a good workout to cleanse your system and keep it running smooth.

6. Too cold to go outside? Stay in and do an in-home workout. Even if it’s a few sets of crunches, weights, pushups, jumping jacks, and jogging in place, every little bit helps. My favorite is Tae Bo, P90X, or yoga in the comfort of my very own home.

More holidays are right around the corner, and now is the best time to re-start (or kick-start) your fitness routine. Don’t wait until after the holidays to burn off the extra winter pounds; starting now will make it easier to keep off any unwanted weight. It might be difficult to get a regime started, but trust me, you'll be happy you did!