Pineapple Rugelach cookies

 

Sometimes fixing just a small part of a recipe, such as the shaping, can lead to an entirely different outcome!  These rich and delicious pastries were something I had wanted to try for years and finally decided to bake them up.  The original shape was not what you see here though.  They were totally cute little pinwheels.  Trouble is, they were a pain to shape, cut, and transfer, and they honestly were a little disappointing once baked.  They had almost an under cooked texture: the recipe said to cook for a short time just until set.  Well, that wasn't what I was hoping for.  So I altered the next half of the batch to turn out some nice, golden brown and flaky rugelach-like pastries.  The basic recipe was practically identical to a rugelach anyway and the result was a win.  They froze wonderfully, they reheated wonderfully, and they were much easier to make!  Rugelach dough is just like tassie dough, rich and unsweetened.  These are great for those that don't like an overly sweet treat.  The sweet pineapple filling and the little bit of icing lend plenty of sweetness to these rich pastries.

Pineapple Rugelach cookies
makes 24 cookies

    Dough:
    1 cup salted butter, softened
    1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
    2 cups all-purpose flour

    Filling:
    ⅔ cup sugar
    4½ tsp all-purpose flour
    1 cup unsweetened crushed pineapple
   
    ½ cup finely chopped walnuts, divided

    Icing and garnish:
    1 cup confectioners' sugar
    2 tbsp butter, melted
    2 tbsp whole milk
    ½ tsp vanilla extract
    ¼ cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy.  Add the flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until easy to handle, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sugar and flour; add pineapple and stir until blended. Cook over low heat until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened. Cover and refrigerate.

Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each portion into a thin circle as for a pie crust.  Spread about half the filling onto each circle, (you may have extra).  Sprinkle half of the finely chopped walnuts over the pineapple filling.

With a knife or pizza wheel, cut each circle into 12 wedges.  (It's okay to eyeball it.)  Starting from an outside edge, roll each wedge in on itself to the center to form a little rolled crescent roll shaped cookie.  

 

 Place 1 in. apart on parchment lined baking sheets.

 

Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Remove to wire racks to cool.  For icing, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, milk and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.  Drizzle over the cooled cookies and sprinkle with walnuts.  Can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.  

These reheat well in a low toaster oven or oven and can be frozen in an airtight container for up to a month.

Adapted from a Taste of Home recipe for Pineapple Stars

Here's how the original shaping looks.  Very cute, but for us, disappointing in the mouth.