Easy Rugelach Recipe ~ The Perfect Winter Cookie
This easy rugelach recipe is one that you will definitely want to add to your collection of holiday desserts. We’ve included step by step instructions below, you just can’t miss.
You might want to get your family involved too, since making the cookies is definitely a labor of love. Just be sure to include about 2 hours of time for chilling the sweet pastry dough into your schedule.
I love to make them in early December because this is a cookie that freezes beautifully. Even if you don’t celebrate Hanukkah, they are just too pretty not to bake!
You will need: apricot preserves, walnuts, cinnamon, butter, all purpose flour, salt, cinnamon, cocoa, cream cheese, vanilla extract, sugar and powdered sugar.
This post was originally published December 20, 2017 and updated December 5, 2018.
EASY RUGELACH RECIPE BACKSTORY
So here we are on the last night of Hannukah and in a few days celebrate Christmas. We celebrate both holidays in our family and I feel so blessed to be able to do so. Some years the calendar determines that Hanukkah falls right in the middle of Christmas and that’s just fine with us!
Raspberry Dream Bars are another classic Holiday Desserts recipe, and we have a great recipe for you to try!
However even though Mark and I have been married 9 years (where does the time go?) this is the first year I’ve made Rugelach to have at Hanukkah.
Had I known they were so easy to make, and had this easy rugelach recipe to use, they would have made a regular appearance!
And while these sweet morsels of goodness are typically served to celebrate during the eight days of Hanukkah, I plan to bake a batch for Christmas, since I think they are the perfect Winter Cookie, and go really well with a big mug of hot chocolate. Know what I mean? 🙂
There are lots of different rugelach fillings. I chose a traditional filling of apricot jam, walnuts, cinnamon and cocoa. For my next batch I’m going to use mini chocolate chips! The possibilities include just about any type of preserves or jam that you love, plus cinnamon and of course chocolate. Yum! Yum!
RUGELACH COOKIES FAQ
- Can Rugelach be frozen after baking? You sure can! There are two ways to freeze Rugelach. You can freeze the discs of pastry dough before you make it into cookies, or you can freeze the baked cookie (much easier I think!) Both for about three months.
- Where does Rugelach come from? Well according to Wikipedia, it’s a Jewish pastry that is very popular in Israel. I decided to bake it when Mark and I watched The Great Canadian Baking Show last week, and this was the Technical Challenge! And my sweetie remembered having them as a child during Hanukkah.
- How long can you keep Rugelach? Well I would like to say about a week or so in the refrigerator, because of the cream cheese, but honestly, these little packages of sweetness don’t last more than a couple of days in our home!
TIPS FOR PERFECT RUGELACH COOKIES
- While this easy rugelach recipe can be whipped up in no time – using a small food processor, be sure to build in the 2 hours of chill time the dough needs in the refrigerator before you can roll it out.
- If you put it in the fridge overnight, the dough will be a bit stiff, but just start working with it and you will be pleased with how easy it rolls out.
- Follow the recipe and step by step instructions below carefully.
Here is the recipe Step By Step….
Once you have the dough rolled out, it’s time for fun! Spreading the apricot preserves and sprinkling the filling all around the circle. Just be sure not to get too much near the centre, because you will want that clear for rolling up, like I’ve shown here.
Once the Rugelach has cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy any time of the year at all!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE…
Our other sweet holiday recipes that are just so full of goodness: Raspberry Dream Bars, Butter Tarts, Chocolate Raspberry Tart
We did a search for different types of Hanukah desserts. I love this roundup from Martha Stewart!
EASY RUGELACH RECIPE
These sweet little morsels of goodness are so perfect with a cup of hot cocoa or tea. I usually double the recipe, so we can enjoy our rugelach during Hanukkah and then freeze a bunch to take to our daughter’s on Christmas Eve. You could do that and wrap them up as a hostess gift too! The sweet pastry, apricot jam and cinnamon sugar filling are just so yummy. You will get asked for the recipe for sure!
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Easy Rugelach Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
- 2 sticks butter - unsalted room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese - room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
- 3/4 cup apricot preserves
- 1/2 cup walnuts - ground
- 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder - dutch-processed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon - ground
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar - for dusting
Instructions
- Cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Blend in the vanilla and sugar. Add ½ the flour and mix until almost incorporated. Add the remaining half of flour and mix until it starts to hold together in a dough. Remove the dough to a lightly flour clean surface. Gently form the dough into a ball and divide into three equal parts. Roll each part into a disc and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Blend the walnuts, sugars, cocoa and cinnamon together in a small mixing bowl until combined. Set aside until its time to build your rugelach.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove one disc of dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface until it is about ⅛ inch thick and 14 inches in diameter. Spread 3 tablespoons apricot preserves around the dough keeping a clean edge around the outside and a space about the size of a 2 inch circle in the center. Sprinkle ⅓ of the filling on the preserves.
- Once it’s rolled out, cut the dough with a pastry or pizza cutter into quarters. Then cut each quarter into three equal pieces. Starting at the wide end, fold over the corners and about ¼ inch of dough. Roll the Rugelach toward the small end. Bend the ends to form a crescent shape and place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Once cool sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Judy Kahansky
Judy Kahansky is an experienced writer and baker, creating delicious desserts (including pie!) for over 40 years. She loves to take classic and vintage recipes and update them to fit the busy lives of her readers. When not baking, Judy and her husband Mark are passionate golfers, travelers and dog lovers, spending as much time as they can with their sweet pup Millie.
Hi Judy,
Thanks for beautiful Rugelach recipe.
Kadir you are more than welcome! We love them and they are fun to make too!
The rugelach recipe looks delicious. Why do you leave a 2” circle in the middle of the dough? I’ve never seen that in a rugelach recipe.
Hi Eileen, they are so delicious! The reason for the 2″ circle is so that the filling doesn’t overflow too much, and that I get a more uniform cookie. Thanks for asking.