The Luxury of a Dessert that Celebrates Two Holidays

Dandelion Chandelier’s Luxury Dish is an occasional series featuring original recipes and their origin stories from our Luminaries, Fireflies, friends, families, and team of far-flung correspondents. We promise that only delicious food and drink and rollicking tales are allowed at our table. And you know the drill: what happens in the kitchen stays in the kitchen. In this edition, we share a dessert perfect for both Christmas and Hanukkah.

our recipe contributor, savannah smith

This contribution is from Savannah Smith, a food blogger and dessert enthusiast based in New York. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a degree in Classical Studies and English, she decided to follow her lifelong passion for baking and start her own baking blog, Seven Bakers Lane. The blog features recipes that are both delicious and fun to make. On Saturdays, you can find her selling amazing baked goods at the Palisades Farmer’s Market from 9 AM – 1 PM.

two holidays, one dessert

This is Savannah’s second entry in our holiday baking series — her Pistachio Rose Pinwheel Sparkle Cookies were a big hit at our house, and totally easy to make. Next up? A dessert that celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah. Like many, Savannah and her family celebrate both. Here at Dandelion Chandelier, we believe in celebrating every holiday — as long as it’s based on love, goodwill and something sweet to eat, we’re in.

the story behind chocolate gingerbread rugelach

I’ll let you in on my (unintentional) best-kept secret – I’m Jewish.

On the one hand, this really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. I’m from New York and I went to private school – if those aren’t dead giveaways, I don’t know what is.

But many friends, even some who’ve known me for several years, are totally surprised to learn that I’m Jewish.

That’s because I am the least Jewish-Jew.

Neither of my parents are religious, so despite both being Jewish, I’ve never celebrated Hanukkah. Passover dinners were more about my relatives yelling at each other than they were about the Seder. And I’d never stepped inside a temple until I went to a friend’s Bat Mitzvah.

In my family, we’ve always celebrated a very secular Christmas, which has always been perfect for me, because I really love Christmas. I love decorating the tree, going shopping, wrapping (and opening…) presents, and watching Christmas movies (Love Actually is my favorite movie of all time).

So it’s safe to say that I’m not really Jewish, I’m Jew………….ish.

The one way I do connect with my Jewish heritage is through food. I love Jewish food –bagels, matzo ball soup, hummus, shakshuka, rugelach… count me in for all of it.

So for this Hanukkah/Christmas, I wanted to make a food that really represented me: Jewish with a lot of Christmas spirit. These gingerbread rugelach are just that: the base recipe is for chocolate rugelach, a classic Hanukah dessert, but the addition of gingerbread spices gives them a bit of the Christmas spirit as well (and some delicious added flavor!).

savannah’s recipe for chocolate gingerbread rugelach

Filling adapted from the September/October issue of Bake from Scratch

ingredients for the dough:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces (1 brick) full-fat cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

ingredients for the filling:

6 ounces dark chocolate, cut into pieces (or good quality dark chocolate chips)

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch fine sea salt

method:

1. In a stand mixer fixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and ground cloves together until combined.

3. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix just until the ingredients come together and a dough begins to form. Divide the dough into four portions, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour (dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours).

4. While the dough is chilling, make the filling: Melt the chocolate (you can do this either over a double boiler or in the microwave) and allow it to cool for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, melted chocolate, cinnamon, and salt and mix until completely combined.

5. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

6. Remove one of the portions of dough from the fridge and on a heavily floured surface, roll the dough out into a large circle. Use an 8- or 9-in round circle (I used the bottom of a springform pan) to cut the dough into a perfect circle.

7. Spread the chocolate filling across the circle, leaving 1/4-in border all around the edges. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 even triangles. Then, starting with the wider end, roll up each triangle and place the rugelach on the baking sheet with the point side down. Repeat with the other three balls of dough.

8. Brush each rugelach with the egg wash and bake for 15 – 17 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

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Savannah Smith is a food blogger and dessert enthusiast based in New York. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a degree in Classical Studies and English, she decided to follow her lifelong passion for baking and start her own baking blog, Seven Bakers Lane. The blog features recipes that are both delicious and fun to make. On Saturdays, you can find her selling amazing baked goods at the Palisades Farmer’s Market from 9 AM – 1 PM.

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