These savoury gluten-free cookies will be the unexpected hit of your holiday gathering. Make sure to source sweet rice flour for this recipe. This type of rice flour is ground from short-grain glutinous rice and, although it’s called “sweet,” it has a mild, almost milky flavour that’s not at all sugary. Sometimes you’ll find this flour labelled as “mochiko.”
The sky is the limit for fillings in these savoury cookies. Other great options include olive tapenade, pesto, or hot red pepper jelly with blue cheese.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (125 mL) sweet rice flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) millet flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 cup (60 mL) gluten-free oat flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) cornstarch
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground turmeric
1/2 tsp (2 mL) xanthan gum
1/4 tsp (1 mL) fine sea salt
6 Tbsp (90 mL) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
8 Tbsp (120 mL) cold cream cheese, cut into chunks
1/2 cup (125 mL) crumbled fresh goat cheese
1 to 2 tsp (5 to 10 mL) harissa paste, depending on how much spice you like
1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 Tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tsp (10 mL) milk
1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried dill
Directions
In bowl of food processor fitted with blade attachment, pulse together sweet rice flour, millet flour, oat flour, cornstarch, turmeric, xanthan gum, and salt until combined. Scatter butter and cream cheese pieces overtop, and process until dough comes together in large clumps, about an additional 30 seconds.
Transfer dough onto large piece of parchment paper that has been lightly dusted with millet flour. Gather dough into rough log and dust lightly with more millet flour. Place another piece of parchment on top of dough and, using rolling pin, roll dough into 16 x 8 in (40 x 20 cm) rectangle. Peel back top piece of parchment every few passes of the rolling pin to ensure dough is not sticking. If it does stick, lightly dust with additional millet flour. If your rectangle is more oval, trim uneven ends, stick them onto the corners, and continue rolling to form an even rectangle. Set dough aside in a cool spot while preparing filling.
In small bowl, stir together goat cheese, harissa paste, and lemon zest.
In another small bowl, toss together chopped parsley, cilantro, and mint.
Transfer rolled dough, still on its parchment, onto baking tray. Thinly spread goat cheese mixture all over dough leaving 1/2 in (1.25 cm) border along both long sides. Sprinkle herbs evenly over cheese.
To shape cookies, lift up one of the long edges of parchment and use it to begin rolling up dough as tightly as possible. Place seam side down on parchment paper and place in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes. At this point you can also wrap and freeze the cookie log until ready to bake.
Place oven rack in middle of oven before preheating to 375 F (190 C).
Remove frozen cookie log from freezer and place on cutting board. Brush with milk and sprinkle with dried dill. Slice into 1 in (2.5 cm) slices and place seam side down on parchment-lined baking tray and bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer rugelach to cooling rack to cool for at least 10 minutes at room temperature before enjoying.
Each rugelach contains: 114 calories; 2 g protein; 8 g total fat (5 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 9 g total carbohydrates (0 g sugars, 1 g fibre); 81 mg sodium
