Rugelach
on Dec 20, 2022
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Have you ever had rugelach cookies before? These tender cookies are always a surprise for folks who haven’t tried them.
The dough is tender and made with butter and cream cheese and then you add jam, sugar, and nuts and roll them up into little cresents. They are delicious!
Rugelach Recipe
Today I’m working with Bob’s Red Mill! If you didn’t know, I’ve been working with them on bringing you recipes for 4 years now. I buy their products regularly; I love this company and all that they do and sell. Thanks for enjoying a recipe they help make possible.
Ingredients
- Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour (I like their organic AP flour): I love that this recipe uses all-purpose flour, I always have it on hand!
- Sugar: granulated sugar is used (just a bit) in the dough and you sprinkle a little on for the filling
- Butter: this helps to make the pastry dough flaky and light
- Cream cheese: this is added to the cookie pastry dough to make it rich and gives it a nice bright flavor that goes well with the jam filling
- Sour cream: just a little is used to help bind the cookie dough together
- Cinnamon: this is added to the filling and is so bright and delicious
- Seedless blackberry jam: this is such a nice bright jam to use for the cookies, raspberry and apricot jam are also great options
- Finely chopped pecans: these also go in the filling, you can use chopped pecans if you prefer
How to make Rugelach
- It’s easier than you’d think! You start by making a simple pastry dough. You do this by mixing together your Bob’s Red Mill flour, sugar, and salt and then cutting in butter AND cream cheese (this makes for a very tender but flaky dough). Then you add sour cream as a bind to make it all come together.
- Roll your dough out into 9 inch circles and put them in the fridge for a bit.
- Top the circles with jam, sugar and cinnamon, and pecans.
- Slice the large circles into wedges and then roll the wedges up.
- Bake and ejoy!
How to make rugelach ahead of time:
Make the recipe up until you are going to bake the cookies (don’t brush them with the egg wash, skip that step). Set them on the baking sheet and then stick them in the freezer. Let them freeze for about 24 hours before removing from the pan and storing in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
To bake, simply place the frozen cookies on the the prepared baking sheet and brush with the egg wash. Bake as directed but add an additional 6-8 minutes of cooking time.
Storage options:
I’ve found that these are best eaten fresh the day they are made. The tender pastry crust really is best eaten right away. They can be served or at room temperature. You can store leftovers in an airtight contain in the fridge or freezer for longer storage but the texture declines. I’ve found it’s best to make the cookies ahead of time (but don’t bake them) and to freeze the unbaked cookies so that you can bake them the day you want to serve them.
How to pronounce rugelach:
You pronounce rugelach: roo·guh·laak
It’s not a common word in every household and so it might be a little hard to say.
Frequently Asked Questions?
Traditional rugelach is made with apricot jam, raisins, and walnuts but there are lots of varieties and options. I really like using raspberry or blackberry jam and pecans in my rugelach and you can even add mini chocolate chips.
These traditional Jewish desserts get their name from the Yiddish word rugel, meaning “royal.”
Rugelach is often eaten on the Jewish sabbath and is common at Hanukkah and also makes a nice Hanukkah gift. You can also enjoy it year round or put it on your Christmas cookie platter. This delicious dessert deserves to be eaten often.
More cookie recipes:
- Gingerbread Cookies
- My Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Perfect Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Thin and Crispy Gingersnap Cookies
If you’ve tried this rugelach recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories.
Rugelach Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (2 sticks or 16 tablespoons)
- 8 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
For the filling:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2/3 cups seedless blackberry jam
- 1 cups finely chopped pecans
For the egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, and salt and use a fork to stir to combine.
- Add the butter and cream cheese and stir to combine so that the butter and cream cheese are coated with flour.
- Cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour using a pastry blender or a fork to incorporate it well. Mix this together until it forms small pieces about the size of half a pea (not sandy but not big chunks, this is a similar method to how you make pie crust).
- Add the sour cream and stir to combine.
- The dough might be a little loose or crumbly at this point, that’s ok. Dump it out onto a clean surface and use you hands to press the dough together to form a more uniform dough. It’s ok to use your hands to work it into a smooth dough.
- Divide the dough into 4 even pieces.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time roll the piece of dough into a 9 inch circle on a piece of parchment paper. Set the dough, on the parchment paper, on a cookie sheet and place it in the fridge.
- Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. You can stack the dough rounds and their parchment paper on top of each other on the same cookie sheet in the fridge. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Add the sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and stir to combine well.
- Remove one piece of dough from the fridge and spread 2 generous tablespoons of jam all over the dough. Sprinkle the jam with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and cinnamon mixture and then top with 1/4 cup of the chopped pecans. Gently press the pecans into the jam.
- Use a sharp knife or a pizza roller to cut the circle into 12 wedges.
- Starting at the fat end of the wedge, roll it up, and then place the wedge with the pointed end down, on a parchment or baking mat lined baking sheets.
- Space the crescents 2 inches apart on the sheets.
- Mix the egg and milk together well with a fork in a small bowl.
- Brush the tops of the cookies with the egg wash.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F. for 18-25 minutes or until the crescents are golden brown. When they come out of the oven, sprinkle lightly with a scant teaspoon of cinnamon and sugar.
- Transfer to a baking rack to cool.
- Repeat with remaining dough and jam. I like to bake one pan at a time, don’t crowd the oven with 2 pans, I have found these cookies don’t bake evenly when I bake more then 1 pan.
- Serve warm or at room temperature the same day you made the cookies.
Notes
- For traditional rugelach cookies, use apricot jam, walnuts in place of the pecans and add 1/4 cup of raisins to each dough round (you’ll need 1 cup of raisins total, golden raisins are a really good option).
- You can use walnuts in place of the pecans if you’d like.
- You can use raspberry jam if you’d like, it’s delicious in this recipe too.
- See the blog post on information on how to freeze and make these ahead of time.
Nutrition
This recipe post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Bless this Mess possible.
I hope you make these tender flaky rugelach cookies that are bursting with sweetness and jam flavor. They are a delightful little treat you are going to love.
I made rugelach according to your recipe, it took only a short time to make and it tasted great, my kids love to eat, thanks for sharing!