Jam-Packed Pastries

A take on traditional rugelach, these cookies can be made with countless combinations of jam and nuts - apricot and walnuts, strawberry and almonds, whatever's in your cupboard. My Mother-in-Law and I made these with Raspberry jam and gave them to Neighbor's along with other baked goods for Christmas platters.

Active time: 15 mins.
Total time: 55 mins

Servings: 20 pinwheels

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 refrigerated rolled pie crusts
1/2 cup raspberry jam (FAVORITE: Smucker's Orchard's Finest Northwest Triple Berry Preserves. Wal-Mart should carry)
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preparation:

1. Heat over to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Sprinkle a clean work surface with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Unroll one pie crust, place it on the cinnamon-sugar mixture and press gently to help the mixture adhere to the crust.

3. Spread half the jam evenly over the crust and sprinkle half the pecans over the top. Starting at one end, tightly roll the dough into a log. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

4. Trim the ends of each log, then cut into 1-inch-thick slices and stand them on edge (sugared-dough-side up and down) on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.

Tip: The baked pinwheels can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days before serving; They'll stay fresh for about 1 week in a Tupperware container. If you microwave them for 15 seconds and add a little vanilla ice cream, it tastes like a fruit cobbler.