For the dates:

Pit the dates. Place the pitted dates in a small stainless steel bowl. Pour the hot cup of tea over the dates. Soak the dates in the tea for at least 30 minutes. Drain all the liquid and discard it. Get the soaked dates and add brown sugar. Stir the mixture and turn the dates into a thick paste. Add the clementine zest. Plastic-wrap the bowl and place in a warm area. It's best to make it the night before.

For the dough:

Let the cream cheese soften for about 15 minutes before using it. Cut into 6 cubes.

Cut each stick of butter (total 2 sticks) into 12 cubes. The butter should be cold just out of the refrigerator.

Sift the flour and salt.

Combine the cream cheese, butter, flour, salt and fromage blanc in a food processor. Place the setting on "dough" and gently pulse the dough about 10 times. Transfer the dough into a bowl and quickly form a ball. It's crucial not to overmix the dough, you should still see bits and pieces of butter. Divide the dough into 3 balls.

Place a silicon mat or a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray. Spread one ball of rugelach dough onto the silicon mat. Place another silicon mat on top of the dough like a sandwich. Even out the dough using a rolling pin and form 8 inch diameter size disks. Repeat the same procedure for the other 2 dough balls. Stack the 3 layers on top of each other. Plastic wrap the tray and place it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or until the rest of the components of the rugelach are ready.

For the filling:

Pulse the chocolate chips in a food processor to obtain small morsels.

Coarsely chop the roasted hazelnuts using a chef's knife.

In a mortar and pestle, coarsely grind the Belgian pearl sugar with the cinnamon. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix 4 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar (get the most powdery product in the bottom of the mortar and pestle) with 3 tablespoons of butter until it forms a cream.

Rolling time:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Get the rugelach dough out of the freezer. Remove the first layer of silicone mat. Place the 3 dough disks next to each other. Brush an even amount of cinnamon sugar butter onto each disks. Spread the date paste. Sprinkle a generous amount of chocolate and finish with the coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Using a pizza wheel, make even portion of rugelach forming triangles. I use the π method to guarantee even portions.

Roll each triangle into little croissant starting from the base of the triangle. To get a nice crescent, make sure to gently curve the pointy ends to the inside. At this point, you can either star to brush your rugelach or freeze them.

For the glazing:

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Brush each croissant using a silicone brush, then sprinkle with the coarse part of the cinnamon Belgian Pearl sugar. Place each rugelach onto a lined baking sheet. You'll need 3 trays.

Before placing in the oven...

Bake time!

Bake the rugelachs for 5 minutes at 350°F, then lower the temperature to 325°F and bake for another 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven. The date filling is still piping hot! Be careful, let the pastries cool down for at least 15 minutes before serving. 

Serve with a nice hot tea. To prevent the rugelach from drying. I covered them with a kitchen towel as soon as they are cooled completely. They were still good the next day. Or you can freeze them as well, as I pointed it out in the tip section.

Bon appétit!