Cream Cheese

There's a rich cream cheese base in this simple yet sophisticated dessert.

This lovely dessert must be chilled at least two hours (or up to one day) before serving.

You might be tempted to bake 2 sheets of cookies at a time in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Don't give in to this urge—the cookies must go in the middle of the oven to cook through and brown evenly.

These tiny turnovers have the same balance of filling to dough as my number one favorite cookie, rugelach, but they are easier to prepare because they aren't rolled. Rugelach means rolled; therefore, I have dubbed these "un-rugelach." The buttery cinnamon/walnut flavors fill your mouth with opulent pleasure, but despite their richness, they are easy to keep on eating because of the fresh tangyness from the apricot jam filling.

Prepare this one day ahead to allow the flavors to blend. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Begin preparing the cheesecake one day before you plan to serve it.

Making this at least a day ahead will allow the flavors to blend.

Here's a fine-textured cake with a luxurious cream cheese and whipped cream frosting.