Rugelach

dough:
6 oz cream cheese
1.5 sticks butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 c sugar
2 c flour
1/4 t cardamom

Combine cream cheese and butter in food processor, and process until smooth-ish (the ease of achieving smoothness may depend on the size of your starting butter pieces and the frequency with which you scrape down the sides of the bowl). Add sugar, process. Add flour and cardamom, process briefly. Scoop out 4 equal blobs of dough onto 4 equal-sized pieces of plastic wrap, fold the plastic wrap over each piece, and squish the dough into discs. Put in the freezer for 1/2 - 1 hr until well chilled.

filling:
3/4 c walnut pieces
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon

While the dough is chilling, wash the food processor then get it dirty again by processing together the filling ingredients until they form something between a grit and a paste.

to assemble:
flour for the board
parchment paper on baking sheets
optional spreads, eg orange marmalade, blackberry sauce, nutella
1 egg + 1 T milk, beaten together

Preheat oven to 350F. Working with one piece of dough at a time, remove the dough from the freezer a few minutes before rolling it out. Flour a work surface and rolling pin. Roll the dough into a 8-10" circle, turning dough over frequently and reflouring as needed to prevent sticking. (Now might be a good time to take out the next piece of dough.) Spread with spread (if using) and cover with a quarter of the filling, making sure to get both almost to the edge of the circle. Cut into 12 wedges with a sharp little knife. Starting at the wide end, roll up each wedge, and place it on a parchment-covered baking sheet. If the filling is falling out around the edges, press it into the dough a bit. (Also, note me stressing the parchment-covered nature of the baking sheets.) Repeat with the other pieces of dough. Brush with a thin layer of the egg wash and bake for 20 min.