Rugelach-crescent or rectangular in shape?

[gyp7318]

Hi Everyone,
I've been craving rugelach A LOT recently and plan on making it for the first time this holiday season. I've found different recipes for it over the internet and all of them are rolled into crescents. I've only had it where they've been cut into rectangles. Is there a reason for the difference? It maybe trivial but I would like to know the reason for this.

Thanks!

[JoanN]

By rectangles I assume you mean little logs about one or one-and-a-half inches long? The reason you see commercial rugelach cut that way is that it's so much easier and less time consuming. You roll out the dough into an oblong or square, roll it up, and slice off individual rugelach. Rolling the dough into a circle and then dividing that circle into eight (or however many) triangles then rolling up each individual triangle takes a lot more effort and a lot more time. But it's the traditional way to do it. I make rugelach at least four times a year, in double batches to freeze half, and the triangle shape has become a far simpler procedure than it was at first.

[gyp7318]

That makes sense that it would be quicker to just cut off the slices from a log rather than rolling into a crescent if sheer volume is a factor.

Thanks everyone for the QUICK responses!

[normalheightsfoodie]

My mother would roll it in a long tubular shape and then cut it into pieces.

Possibly, the cut pieces resemble a "a rounded rectangle"

[gyp7318]

I bought some at Whole Foods two weeks ago and they were like Katie Nell stated above, like cinnamon rolls on their sides, but in a smaller piece. I also had some at a bakery in Philadelphia about 5 years ago and they were in this shape as well. It's like the dough is rolled out flat, the filling is spread in it and then the dough is rolled up like a rouglage and then cut into small pieces and then baked.

[Katie Nell]

You can do this with any rugelach recipe and it will bake the same. This is the recipe I used last year using the cinnamon roll method and it worked perfectly. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec... I don't know the reason for the difference though.

[Kelli2006]

It is easier to roll and cut the dough when it is in a rectangle than it is to a round. A round shape is more traditional.

[Katie Nell]

By cut into rectangles, what do you mean exactly? At the bakery I used to work at, they made them sort of like cinnamon rolls, except as if they were set on their sides.

[pescatarian]

I've never seen rugelach in a rectangular shape, only in the shape of a crescent.