My sister, Mary Pat, is the born baker in the family. She has a sweet tooth she has polished into a fine baking skill. Everything she makes is delicious, but she is famous for her rugelach.

As is common with rugelach, the recipe is passed down from family baker to family baker. This recipe originally came from our cousin Vera, but my sister has lovingly tweaked it to make it her own. It is made with sour cream instead of cream cheese, making the pastry lighter and flakier than most rugelach.

She also uses a simple filling of cinnamon-sugar and toasted pecans that perfectly complements the delicate dough and gives the traditional Jewish cookie a Southern flavor. Most other recipes use walnuts, chocolate, raisins, cinnamon-sugar and jam to fill the cookies, often times in combination. But this is a cookie I think benefits from the less-is-more rule. And that’s why I love my sister’s version so much. And you don’t have to be Jewish or celebrate Hanukkah to love these rugelach. My sister makes them all year long and gives them as gifts.