Rugelach

Rugelach
Makes about 6 dozen
The cream cheese inside the dough of these little crescent shaped cookies yields an extremely tender dough with grate flavor! The filling of this traditional jewish cookies often varies from chocolate, raisins, apricot jam and some times all three. Try your own variation or the one shown below, I guarantee you'll love them! A tip for anyone who's like me and has a hard time rolling a perfect circle, use a plate or cake pan to cut out a perfect circle. This will ensure that all of your cookies are more or less the same size. The trimmings can be rolled again, if do gets to soft pop it back into the refrigerator to firm up.

For the dough:
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of coarse salt
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

For the filling
4 ounces walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
12 ounces apricot jelly, melted
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips, or currants or a combination

For the finishing:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup fine sanding sugar

Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Remove from bowl, and divide into 6 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.
Make the filling: In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats) or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 9-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Brush evenly with jelly. Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture and one-third of the chocolate chips. Using the rolling pin, gently roll over filling to press ingredients into dough.
Cut the round into 12 equal-sized wedges. Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.