Gingerbread Biscoff Rugelach

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.

 

I love the crisp tenderness of these simple holiday cookies, thanks to the premade buttery pie crusts.  Filled with that silky, spicy Biscoff filling and the sweet caramelized cinnamon sugar and pecans, this rugelach is one that will stand out on the cookie platter!  Pecans not your thing?  Substitute chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, even chopped peanuts!  No Biscoff?  Use peanut butter, Nutella, or even jam.  Different fillings could include chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, dried cranberries, chopped Reese’s cups, miniature marshmallows … honestly, it’s totally up to your imagination!  I just loved the combination of spicy gingerbread with smooth, sweet Biscoff spread and salty, crunchy pecans: it is reminiscent of the seasons!

Have a delicious day!!

xo, Hayley