You don't have to be Jewish ...

In the 1960s an ad proclaimed "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's real Jewish rye" and in a flash, a bread once familiar mainly to Eastern European Jews became ubiquitous throughout the United States. The same thing happened with other traditional Jewish foods, such as bagels, smoked salmon and hummus.

But the most mouth-watering of them all is rugelach.

Rugelach, those butter-rich, sugar-dense crescent cookies.

Or are they little pastries? Rugelach, the ones with raisins and nuts stuffed inside. And sometimes a swirl of chocolate. Or jam.

Why did they go mainstream? Taste one and you'll know.

Although you can find freshly baked and packaged rugelach in bakeries and food stores throughout the year, it's when the Jewish High Holidays come that they're more on everyone's mind for Rosh Hashanah dessert or for that first nibble to break the Yom Kippur fast.

The holidays are early this year (Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Wednesday, Sept. 4; Yom Kippur ends at sundown on Saturday, Sept. 14). That means people are starting to think about rugelach right now.

In the old days most rugelach were made from yeast dough, which contains no butter, cheese or other dairy product, so it may be eaten after a meat meal (the kosher dietary laws forbid mixing meat and dairy). But dairy-based rugelach have become more popular over the years because the dough is delightfully rich and flaky and it has a lightly salt-like tang that pairs well with the sugary stuffings. They are also easier to prepare, so making them at home is not an awesome task. And for those who require nondairy desserts, substitutes such as tofutti work perfectly well in place of the cream cheese and sour cream.

Plan ahead if you intend to make rugelach. The dough has to rest and be thoroughly cold, otherwise it is more difficult to roll and the cookies can taste greasy. You can prepare the dough several days ahead and keep it in the refrigerator; it will stay fresh for baking for up to two months in the freezer. In either case, cover the dough tightly in plastic wrap.

Classic rugelach are crescent shaped to mimic the emblem of the once mighty Ottoman Empire. There were several of these crescent-shaped foods, including croissants, conceived by Austrian bakers to celebrate their country's victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1683.

To make the classic crescent shapes at home, roll sections of the dough into circles, spread the surface with filling, cut the circle into wedges and roll each wedge up starting with the widest side.

But if you don't care whether your rugelach are crescents, there's an easier way to shape them: roll each dough section into a circle, spread with filling, roll the dough jelly-roll style and slice into bite-size pieces.

They taste the same as the crescents.

Almost anything goes when it comes to fillings. The classic combines melted butter, cinnamon sugar, raisins and nuts. But rugelach can have whatever you would like to have in them: chopped chocolate, jam, candied cherries, crystallized ginger, dried cranberries, orange peel, halvah, chopped nuts, toffee chips. You can bake them plain or brush the top with beaten egg and sprinkle with crystal sugar and/or chopped nuts to give the pastries a contrasting inner and outer texture.

Here is the recipe for the basic dough with several suggestions for stuffing variations.

Cream Cheese-Sour Cream Rugelach

Makes 48-60

1/2 pound butter

1/2 pound cream cheese

4 cups flour, sifted

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup dairy sour cream

Filling recipes follow

Beat the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer at medium speed until smooth and uniform. Add the flour and salt, blend them in slightly, but not completely. Add the sour cream and mix until a soft, smooth uniform dough has formed. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Wrap each piece and refrigerate for 6 hours or until thoroughly firm and cold. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll each piece of dough on a lightly floured surface about 1/4-inch thick. Spread equal amounts of filling on top. Cut each circle into 8 to 10 wedges. Roll the wedges from the wide end to the pointy end. Curve slightly to form a crescent. Tuck in the pointy end so it is on the bottom. Place the crescents on an ungreased cookie sheet. If they feel soft, refrigerate them for 30 minutes before baking. Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

NOTE: you may roll each circle jelly-roll style and cut the rolls into rugelach cylinders.

Fillings:

Each recipe makes enough for 48-60 pastries

Cinnamon-Raisin-Nut

6 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

Melt the butter and set it aside. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into circles; spread equal amounts of the melted butter on each of the circles (about 1 tablespoon for each circle). Sprinkle each circle with equal amounts of the cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle with raisins and nuts. Cut each circle into 8 to10 wedges. Roll the wedges from the wide end to the pointy end. Curve slightly to form a crescent. Tuck in the pointy end so it is on the bottom. Place the crescents on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Chocolate

6 tablespoons butter, melted

8 ounces finely chopped chocolate

3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

Cinnamon-sugar if desired

Melt the butter and set it aside. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into circles; spread equal amounts of the melted butter on each of the circles (about 1 tablespoon for each circle). Sprinkle each circle with equal amounts of the chocolate, raisins and nuts. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if desired. Cut each circle into 8 to 10 wedges. Roll the wedges from the wide end to the pointy end. Curve slightly to form a crescent. Tuck in the pointy end so it is on the bottom. Place the crescents on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Chocolate-Raspberry Filling

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup raspberry jam

8 ounces finely chopped chocolate

1/2 chopped finely chopped nuts, optional

Melt the butter and set it aside. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into circles; spread equal amounts of the melted butter on each of the circles (about 1 tablespoon for each circle). Sprinkle each circle with equal amounts of the jam. Sprinkle with the chocolate. Sprinkle with nuts if desired. Cut each circle into 8 to 10 wedges. Roll the wedges from the wide end to the pointy end. Curve slightly to form a crescent. Tuck in the pointy end so it is on the bottom. Place the crescents on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Ronnie Fein is a cookbook author and cooking teacher in Stamford. Visit her food blog, Kitchen Vignettes, at www.ronniefein.com