Rugelach
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Delicious to eat and fun to make, rugelach are miniature crescent-rolled pastries with a sweet filling.
Delicious to eat and fun to make, rugelach (pronounced rug-a-lah) are miniature crescent-rolled pastries posing as cookies. They’re made by rolling a triangle of dough around a sweet filling of fruit, nuts, chocolate or pretty much anything your heart desires. If you’ve never had rugelach or made them from scratch, definitely roll up your sleeves and give this classic walnut-raisin version a try. They’re easier than they look and vastly better than store-bought. They do take some time to make because the dough needs to be refrigerated for a few hours, but I promise you, it’s worth it. Fresh out of the oven, they’re buttery and flaky with a sweet cinnamon scent that will tempt you to eat the entire batch.
Since rugelach are hands-on, they are wonderful to make with kids. Mine love rolling out the dough (which, thankfully, is very forgiving!), creating their own fillings (don’t miss their favorite chocolate rugelach) and then rolling the cookies into little twists.
Table of Contents
“I love rugelach but was always too intimidated to make them. Then I found your recipe and decided to go for it. So glad I did. Delicious and fun to make.”
What You’ll Need To Make Rugelach
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for the dough. Measure it by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Butter: Gives the dough a flaky, rich texture.
- Cream Cheese: Makes the dough pliable, easy to work with, and reliably tender.
- Egg Yolk: Adds a little extra richness and helps the dough turn golden in the oven.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor to the filling. When measuring brown sugar, always pack it tightly to eliminate air pockets.
- Granulated Sugar: Provides additional sweetness.
- Walnuts: Adds a crunchy texture and earthy, nutty flavor to the filling.
- Raisins: Contribute sweetness and chewiness to the rugelach.
- Ground Cinnamon: Adds warmth and spice to the filling.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by making the dough. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and pulse a few times to mix.
Add the cubed butter, cream cheese, and egg yolk.
Pulse until the mixture forms large curd-like pieces. Be careful not to over-mix; all those little chunks of fat will steam while the rugelach bake, making the dough tender and flaky.
Dump the crumbly dough onto a work surface. It will look like a mess but don’t worry, it will come together.
Knead the dough just until it comes together and shape it into a square or rectangle.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
Flatten each portion into 1-inch thick disks, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Wipe out the food processor and make the filling by combining the brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and walnuts in the bowl.
Process until the nuts and raisins are finely chopped, then transfer the filling to a bowl and set aside until the dough is ready to roll.
Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well so the rolling pin doesn’t stick.
Roll each disc into a rough 10-11″ circle (it should be just under 1/8″ thick). Turn the dough and dust with more flour as necessary so it doesn’t stick. Don’t worry if the edges are a little cracked or rough.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the filling evenly over the dough and press down firmly with your hands to anchor it.
Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough into 12 wedges, just like you would cut a pizza or pie.
Roll each wedge up, beginning with the wide end and ending with the narrow end.
Place the rolls point-side down, about an inch apart, on parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly golden.
Transfer the rugelach to a rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Make Ahead, Freezing & Storage Instructions
The rugelach are best served warm out of the oven but keep well for several days stored in an airtight container. When it comes to freezing the rugelach, you have a few options: you can freeze the dough, the assembled (unbaked) rugelach, or the baked rugelach.
The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months; when ready to bake, thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight, and then proceed with recipe. To freeze the assembled rugelach before baking, arrange them on a baking sheet (so they’re not touching) and freeze until very firm. Transfer them to an airtight container. They can be baked directly out of the freezer; they may just need a few extra minutes in the oven. To freeze the baked rugelach, let the rugelach cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove them from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s fine to omit the nuts without any other modifications. Or you could replace them with the same amount of mini chocolate chips. My kids love them this way!
Sure! Just keep in mind that the jam will ooze out a bit as the rugelach bakes, so limit the amount you spread on the dough to a relatively thin coating to avoid too much oozing.
Yep, gluten-free flour will work! A number of readers have commented that they have good luck with King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour and Cup4Cup gluten-free flour.
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Rugelach
Delicious to eat and fun to make, rugelach are miniature crescent-rolled pastries with a sweet filling.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife, plus more for rolling dough
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¾-inch chunks
- 8 oz (1 package) cold cream cheese, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 egg yolk
For the Filling
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup walnuts
- ½ cup raisins
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the chunks of butter and cream cheese, as well as the egg yolk. Pulse until the dough is moistened and crumbly with curd-like pieces about the size of peas. Dump the dough out onto a work surface. Knead just until it comes together and shape into a square or rectangle. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and flatten into 1-inch thick discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Wipe out the food processor. To make the filling, place the brown sugar, granulated sugar, walnuts, raisins and cinnamon in the bowl of the food processor and pulse until the walnuts and raisins are finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and set aside until the dough is ready.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and set two oven racks in the centermost positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it and place it on a lightly floured work surface. (If necessary, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes until pliable enough to roll, but not too soft.) Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour, then use a rolling pin to roll it into a 10 - 11-inch circle, or just under an ⅛-inch thick. Sprinkle more flour and turn as necessary so the dough doesn't stick. Spread ½ cup of the filling over the dough; using your hands, press the filling into the dough to anchor it.
- Using a pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut the dough into twelve equal wedges (just like you would cut a pizza). Roll each wedge up, beginning with the wide end and ending with the point. Place the rolls point-side down, about an inch apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough. You should have 24 rugelach on each baking sheet.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back midway through, or until the tops are lightly golden and the bottoms are golden and crisp (at first glance, it might look like the bottoms are burnt, but that's just the dark filling oozing out). Transfer the rugelach to a rack to cool.
- Freezing Instructions: To freeze the dough (up to 3 months): Shape the dough into 2 discs, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and place in a sealable bag. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking. Alternatively, assemble the rugelach, freeze them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to an airtight container. Bake directly from frozen, adding a few extra minutes. To freeze after baking: Cool completely and store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment or foil. Let come to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 2 cookies
- Calories: 181
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 17g
- Sugar: 8g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Sodium: 58mg
- Cholesterol: 38mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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How long can the dough rest in the refrigerator before baking?
Hi Pat, It’s okay to refrigerate it for a few days.
I used Phyllo Dough. Though it would be a lot easier, but It didn’t come out that great.
Any tips using Phyllo Dough?
Hi Margie, Phyllo dough is just not a great option for this. If you want something somewhat similar that uses phyllo, you could try this apple strudel. Hope that helps!
I have never made this cookie with cream cheese (our family recipe uses sour cream) but wanted to give these a try as I was fresh out of sour cream. They are very tasty, but for some reason my dough came out slightly dry. I weighed my flour for exact measurements so I was a little disappointed at the dryness. However, I would definitely try these again with a little less flour (perhaps 2 cups as mentioned in a comment below)!
I could not find my tried and true cream cheese dough rugelach recipe and went searching for it online. I didn’t find the exact one I had used for years, but did stumble onto this one! I made it, and they turned out SPECTACULAR!
I use some different things in my fillings as I am not a fan of raisins. I kept the brown suar, sugar and nuts (although I prefer pecans), and to give the filling the moisture needed, I used a large dollop of plum preserves. Yes–that adds more sugar, but it also brings a tartness that is exquisite with the cream cheese dough and nuts!
This dough is definitely a keeper! I’m so glad I found this recipe! Thank you!
SUCCESS! Yayyy!!! Finally!!!
Have tried making Rugelach using other recipes, and they’ve never come out satisfactorily. Wanted to try a small batch of these, so quartered the dough and froze 3 disks. Followed the directions to the letter with the remaining disk and made a full batch of filling(froze 3/4 of it for future use).
Let the dough rest in the fridge for two hours and then prepared the cookies as directed. My husband, who doesn’t like chocolate(a character flaw…lol!!)LOVES them!!! Has devoured 4 already!
Thanks SO much, Jenn!!!
Reduce the flour to 2 cups and you’ll get much better results. The dough is not tender and flaky using 2.5 cups of flour. The filling is fabulous and yields a much nicer-looking cookie than if you use jam.
The only difference between this and Ina Garten’s recipe is that hers uses 2 cups of flour. The dough is much smoother and easier to work with. With 2 1/2 cups it is dry and crumbly. Much harder to work with.
I wish I knew that… I just wasted 2 sticks of butter and a package of cream cheese trying to get it to work…. Adding some water as a last minute attempt.
Question:
Can I do it by hand? without a machine?
My machine just broke down and I can’t get a new one.
Thanks!!
Hi, Do you have a mixer? If so, that would work (bring the butter and cream cheese to room temperature first). The dough won’t be quite as flaky, but they’ll still be good.
I made these for our 4th of July celebration, even though these were not exactly traditional for us. They may be traditional now. I made the rolls early and froze them, so baking them fresh was a snap. The size was perfect, and less messy than something frosted, since kids took them to enjoy with no plate. I only have a few left, and I shared the recipe.
I did substitute dried cherries for the raisins, since that was what I had in the pantry, but really there are many other fruit combos that would be delicious. Definitely a keeper, thanks.
I love this recipe. I experimented with this recipe and was not too sure how well it would work because I did not have a processor. I used a stand mixer and just went for it. I used warm butter and I let my cream cheese sit in the kitchen to warm up. In Germany they do not sell the same cream cheese but the version here is a bit watered down. My mixture was very wet because of this but easy to work with so I just prayed. I let it sit for three to four hours in the refrigerator and then rolled it out. I used the chocolate filling ( make sure it is warm when you spread it on the dough and roll them quickly otherwise it crumbles) instead from her other recipe and they turned out nice and flakey definitely not what I expected since my mixture was rather gooey. Thank you I love them and they smell amazing.
I tried this and what a disaster. Just a waste of ingredients!!!