A couple days ago, we had a minor emergency at work.
We were all tip-tapping away when a supervisor walked by and shouted “Evacuate!” We all stood up in our cubicles, clearly puzzled, and gave her a strange look. “”Evacuate!” she repeated. “Just take whatever is necessary!”
Without blinking, I grabbed my purse out of my little locker. In it contains my wallet (however moneyless), my nail clippers (an OCD girl’s best friend), and my perfume (which is sacred to me seeing as I have issues with smells). Then I quickly assessed my cubicle for any additional must-haves.
I spotted my brand new issue of Allure magazine on my desk and quickly snatched that up. A brand new issue? Hellllll if I was gonna leave it behind, homie. I take magazines very seriously.
As I looked around, I didn’t see anything of value that I planned on shlepping along on my person during this spontaneous evacuation. Notebooks? Eh. Paperwork? Couldn’t care less. I looked at the coffeemaker I had smuggled into my cube and briefly thought about taking it but realized that others would see it and tattle on me since we’re not allowed to have them apparently, and I’ll be damned if we’re dying and some little punk tries to get me in trouble for a coffeemaker.
Dude — it’s a coffeemaker, not a meth lab. Chill the frrrrreaaaakk out. I decided to leave it behind to face whatever danger the building was under.
As I began to leave my cube, I stopped dead in my tracks and mentally ran through what I’d brought to work that day. Magazine? Check. Purse? Check. Phone? Check. All essentials, clearly. And then it hit me — did I have anything in the fridge?
Here we are, employees under an evacuation order — obviously in some kind of danger — and I am standing here trying to think if I have anything in the fridge.
Food worth saving. Over, y’know, lives. (But dammit, that Trader Joe’s soup is really good, y’all).
My coworkers pushed past me and encouraged me to follow along as quickly as possible. I jostled in between their bodies and quickly ran through what I’d eaten for lunch (a sandwich) and remembered that there were no survivors from that meal. Once I had established that I wasn’t leaving any food behind, I powered through my throngs of coworkers to get to safety.
Anyway, turns out it was a small fire scare. Apparently someone saw smoke in their office which came from a burnt-out fuse and not from the terrible fish someone always brings to work on their lunch breaks {look, I get that you like trout, but it makes our office smell like death, so can you maybe bring something normal and not offensive, like a frozen pizza or some spaghetti? Thanks}.
Aaaaand we got to stand outside for a half hour and watch sexy firemen climb on the building! It was basically the best day ever, especially knowing that everyone got out safely and that I didn’t leave any crumbs behind.
And guess what? This has nothing to do with rugelach! Sue me. Or don’t, I don’t have money. But you should make this rugelach anyways — it’s seriously phenom.
I had never had rugelach before until I tried some last Christmas. Whyyyyy I waited so long is beyond me, but I’m a convert. It’s good, man. But I’m not one to spend hours making a laborious cream-cheese laden dough, chill it, and precisely roll a bunch of cookies out. I’d much rather spend my time online shopping or evacuating buildings. So I came up with a seriously simple “copycat” way to whip up some rugelach this holiday season.
Introducing your newest time-saving savior: premade pie crust!
By using refrigerated pie crust, you take the measurements, precision and guesswork out of making tricky rugelach cookie dough. No muss, no fuss. And rugelach is an incredibly versatile cookie, so you can shmear pretty much whatever your heart desires inside for a customized cookie. For this recipe, I layered on the Biscoff and copiously sprinkled a scrumptious brown sugar/cinnamon/ginger concoction with salty pecans for a truly out-of-this-world, sweet-and-spicy rugelach.
Now maaaaybe use the rugelach to convince the fish-eater at work to knock it off.
- 1 pkg refrigerated pie crusts
- ½ cup Biscoff spread
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ginger (or more to taste)
- ½ cup (or so) chopped pecans
- Egg wash (just one egg beaten with a fork)
- Coarse sugar (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 pans with silicone liners, parchment paper, or use an Heirloom cookie sheet. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and ginger with a little spoon until combined. Add more cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, a pinch of nutmeg -- whatever -- to suit your taste.
- On a clean, flat work surface, roll out the pie crusts. Spread each surface generously with the Biscoff spread. Sprinkle evenly with the chopped nuts and then copiously pour the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the nuts.
- Using a sharp paring knife, cut each pie crust like a pizza; you should get about 16 triangle-sized pieces out of each pie crust. Starting with the larger end, roll the pie crusts up crescent-roll style, trying to enclose the nuts if you can.
- Place the cookies on the baking sheet, about ½" apart. Brush lightly with the egg wash; sprinkle with the coarse sugar if you'd like. Bake for approx. 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve!
Have a delicious day!!
xo, Hayley
Rebecca @ Dorm Room Baker says
Yes! I love your priorities. Clearly if I have something delicious I’m not going to leave it behind! Not to mention, people who eat smelly fish in enclosed, communal places are up there with the people who circle Waldo in the book. Also, as someone who’s grown up eating rugelach and been sort of meh about it, I’ve decided that adding biscoff to them may very well change my mind completely.
Anne Porretta says
OK, your post had me laughing out loud. You are hilarious–and maybe a tad lazy–but you’ve got me hooked. I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m a purist kind of baker who does everything from scratch and I have never seen Biscoff in Ontario, but I found a make-it-yourself-recipe for Biscoff last week. Rarin’ to go!
Kelly @ hidden fruits and veggies says
We had issues with our secondary fire alarm system and for a while were evacuating weekly, into snowy cold Michigan weather with no sexy firemen to make it worth it. I’ve never had a rugelach, but they look amazing and anything filled with Biscoff is worth standing in the cold for.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Hey – if your day EVER includes sexy fireman, it’s considered an awesome day! Now this rugelach, it looks so insanely yummy and now that I know how easy it is, well, I MUST make it, and soon!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
I’d go for food and the coffee maker too. 🙂
And I never thought to use the dough for rugelach. I’ve been dying to make it this year!! SO GOOD!
Nancy P.@thebittersideofsweet says
I have never had a rugelach but they sure do look delicious! I bet you never have a dull moment!
Julianne @ Beyond Frosting says
Rugelach out of pie crust? GENIUS! Sounds like a pretty exciting day at work, which is probably few and far between!
Emily {Pink Tiger in the Kitchen} says
I adore your fire story!! There aren’t enough words to begin to tell you how hilarious I find it!! I’m glad that you saved everything and knew there were no crumbs left behind. And I think you should totally bring these cookies to the trout eater…. they have to power to change minds about fish!! Delicious Hayley!!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
Love that you use pie crust for rugelach! I may have to switch up my traditional rugelach recipe this year!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
You have the best stories.
and the best ideas. I’m loving the flavors you put in this rugelach! omnnnnn!!!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
I love gingerbread so much so this recipe has me doing the happy dance!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I would totally have saved my food in the fridge too….duh!!! hahaha Love this
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama says
Whoa! I need these in my life ASAP! 🙂 Yum! Pinned.