WIRE BRUSH RECIPES

Steps:

• Make the dough: Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth and well blended. Beat in sugar and vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour and salt until just incorporated.
• Scrape dough onto plastic wrap. Divide dough into 4 portions, form each into a disk and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 5 days.
• Prepare the fudge: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cream, and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves completely, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Add chocolate, butter and vanilla, and let sit for 5 minutes to soften the chocolate, then mix until melted and smooth. (Fudge can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature before using; it’s too firm to spread when cold.)
• Make the crumb filling: In a small bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in melted butter until it is evenly distributed and the mixture forms large, moist crumbs. Set aside. 
• Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick liners, or lightly butter the pans, if you like. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, remove it from refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, or until malleable enough to roll out.
• On a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll out dough into a 9-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Rotate dough while rolling to ensure it does not stick to the work surface.
• Using the back of a spoon, evenly spread 2 tablespoons of fudge onto the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of sugar cocoa crumbs over fudge. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of chopped nuts over the crumbs, and, using your hands, press the filling firmly and evenly into the dough.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the dough circle into 12 triangles, like pieces of a pie. With an offset spatula or thin knife, loosen the triangles from the work surface. Starting at the wide end of the triangle and working to the narrow tip, roll up each piece and bend the ends around to form a slight crescent shape.
• Place rugelach, narrow tip tucked beneath, on a prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each. Refrigerate, lightly covered with plastic wrap, for at least 30 minutes (and up to 24 hours) to help them keep their shape in the oven. Repeat with the remaining dough, fudge and filling. (Clean your work surface before rolling out the next batch of dough.)
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together Demerara sugar and a large pinch of flaky salt. Brush rugelach with milk and sprinkle sugar-salt mix on top.
• Bake, 2 sheets at a time, until lightly browned, 17 to 25 minutes. Rotate cookie sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed or a large bowl and wooden spoon, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy and smooth. With the machine running, add sugar and salt, and continue beating until a little fluffy. Add egg yolk and beat until incorporated. (Reserve egg white.) Add flour all at once and mix just until incorporated. Halve the dough, and place each half on plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, press each half into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• When ready to bake, cut guava paste into 50 1/4-inch-thick rectangles (2 inches long, ½-inch wide). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• On a generously floured surface, using a well-floured rolling pin, roll out 1 dough rectangle until roughly 15 1/2 inches long, 6 1/2 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick. Trim the edges, then cut into 24 (2 1/2-by-1 1/2-inch) rectangles. (You will have 48 rectangles from the initial rolling; the final two rectangles will come from rolled-out scraps.) Transfer to a prepared sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. If the dough has gotten too soft to handle, refrigerate until firmer but still very pliable.
• Place a guava paste rectangle in the center of each piece of dough on a diagonal. (It should not extend past the dough.) Take the dough corner opposite the top of a guava rectangle and wrap it over the guava paste so that the point meets the opposite edge; press the dough corner gently to secure. Take the corner diagonally opposite to the folded one and fold over the other end of the guava paste, pressing the corner gently against the other edge. Repeat with the remaining dough and guava paste. Chill and reroll dough scraps. If the assembled dough is soft, and you’d like to decorate the tops, chill or freeze again.
• For a sparkly, crunchy and sweet top, lightly brush the top of the dough with the reserved egg white and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. (These taste just as good without any topping.) Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. (The paste may ooze out.) Cool completely on the sheets on wire racks. The cookies are best the day they’re made, but will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.