If you ask us, the prospect of the holidays without cookies is a sad one indeed. Whether you pack them into tins for friends or leave them out with a glass of milk for Santa, this is your chance to share your favorite holiday cookie recipe.
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Simmering the dried figs in milk softens them up nicely. Don't be alarmed if the milk separates into curds -- this is normal.
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When you don't have a knife on hand, a whisk will do to level the flour!
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Sarah's new overhead angle. We love it.
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Amanda makes sure we're still on track.
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The flour gets sifted with cinnamon and nutmeg for a lightly spiced dough.
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Someone looks skeptical. Perhaps it's because the dough looked a little wet at this point. But never fear -- it sets up beautifully in the fridge.
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Amanda spoons the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap.
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The chilled dough is delightfully tender and easy to work with.
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You can see the pieces of fig in the dough as the rolling pin spreads them out.
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No, you're not hallucinating: a man was indeed installing a new washer/dryer while Amanda rolled out these cookies.
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Helenthenanny calls for 1/8-inch thick rounds.
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The key to the glaze is brandy. Ahh, brandy...
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You just mix the glaze ingredients over low heat, and you're ready to go.
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This is perhaps the part of this recipe that is the most fun.
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Butter dominos.
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If you get an 8-ounce container of sour cream, you can mix the vanilla right in the container. We get a little too excited over the discovery of such efficiencies!
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The vanilla-scented sour cream reclining on top of the butter and flour mixture.
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This is the definition of a shaggy dough. Don't over mix it because it'll get worked plenty later when you roll it out.
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Amanda shaped the pastry disk as she flattened and prepped it for the rolling pin.
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Everything seemed serene in the kitchen, and yet, a new washer and dryer were being installed. Why? Because during last week's holiday punch video shoot, the old W/D overflowed and flooded the kitchen 3 times. That's why Amanda disappeared for portions of the video.
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Merrill began spreading apricot jam on top of the dough.
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It's easiest to slice the dough using a pizza cutter.
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Then you roll up the pizza-like slices from the wide end down to the narrow end. You don't want to roll them too tightly or you'll squeeze out the apricot, walnut and cinnamon sugar filling.
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We have no idea what is going on with the washer installation, but this can't be good.
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The rugelach, however, was very, very good.
