Simmering the dried figs in milk softens them up nicely. Don't be alarmed if the milk separates into curds -- this is normal.

When you don't have a knife on hand, a whisk will do to level the flour!

Sarah's new overhead angle. We love it.

Amanda makes sure we're still on track.

The flour gets sifted with cinnamon and nutmeg for a lightly spiced dough.

Someone looks skeptical. Perhaps it's because the dough looked a little wet at this point. But never fear -- it sets up beautifully in the fridge.

Amanda spoons the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap.

The chilled dough is delightfully tender and easy to work with.

You can see the pieces of fig in the dough as the rolling pin spreads them out.

No, you're not hallucinating: a man was indeed installing a new washer/dryer while Amanda rolled out these cookies.

Helenthenanny calls for 1/8-inch thick rounds.

The key to the glaze is brandy. Ahh, brandy...

You just mix the glaze ingredients over low heat, and you're ready to go.

This is perhaps the part of this recipe that is the most fun.

Butter dominos.

If you get an 8-ounce container of sour cream, you can mix the vanilla right in the container. We get a little too excited over the discovery of such efficiencies!

The vanilla-scented sour cream reclining on top of the butter and flour mixture.

This is the definition of a shaggy dough. Don't over mix it because it'll get worked plenty later when you roll it out.

Amanda shaped the pastry disk as she flattened and prepped it for the rolling pin.

Everything seemed serene in the kitchen, and yet, a new washer and dryer were being installed. Why? Because during last week's holiday punch video shoot, the old W/D overflowed and flooded the kitchen 3 times. That's why Amanda disappeared for portions of the video.

Merrill began spreading apricot jam on top of the dough.

It's easiest to slice the dough using a pizza cutter.

Then you roll up the pizza-like slices from the wide end down to the narrow end. You don't want to roll them too tightly or you'll squeeze out the apricot, walnut and cinnamon sugar filling.

We have no idea what is going on with the washer installation, but this can't be good.

The rugelach, however, was very, very good.