[Note: These cookies were previously called “Pull-Apart Rugelach” but I felt that the title occluded how simple and endless doable this approach is.]
The single most frequently asked (possibly rhetorical but I’ve never let that stop me before) question in regards to the sweet recipes on this site is “How do you not eat all of these?” And I finally have an answer: They’re not rugelach. I love chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, I think snickerdoodles are wildly underrated, but rugelach — those impossibly flaky Central European crescent cookies — are the single item in the category of foods that are just not allowed to be here ever, because there’s something about the glorious harmony of it all (the salty cheese, the tart jam, the cinnamon aroma, the crunch, and if you love your people, the chocolate, gaaah) that it will not be safe with me. Or I will not be safe with it. Which is unfortunate, because I have an avalanche of rugelach in my apartment right now.
Previously, the only things that prohibited me from an all-rugelach diet were the fact that: they are never as good from a bakery, even a great one, as they are homemade and that they’re pretty tedious to make. Butter and cream cheese must be softened, which takes forever in the winter. The dough has to be beaten with a mixer, then chilled, then rolled out, one-quarter at a time, then spread with jam and nuts and dried fruit and, because you love your friends, chocolate and then cut into 16 wedges and each rolled individually then arranged on a baking sheet, brushed with egg or cream wash, sprinkled with more sugar, baked and cooled then repeated three more times with the remaining dough and even I don’t love them enough to do that more than once a year.
This year I set out to prove that they could be made with much less work and much less tedium, and unfortunately (for me, send help) succeeded. Because you don’t obsess over these pastry wonders as much as I do without picking up a few things along the way, first, let me throw down some bossy Rugelach Knowledge:
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- There’s only one cream cheese dough recipe. We may say you love Ina’s or Martha’s or Maida’s or Rose Levy’s (I do too) but they are all formulaically the same: 1/2 pound butter, 1/2 pound cream cheese, just shy of 1/2 pound flour (2 cups) and a little bit of salt. There are versions that use other kinds of tangy dairy — farmer’s, quark, and even sour cream — but the proportions are the same. Trust it; it’s perfect.
- Many people add sugar to the dough. You should not. The beauty of rugelach is in the contrast between the faintly salty dough and the sweet, nutty, aromatic and lightly tart fillings. Don’t even try to argue with me over this.
- All rugelach worth eating leak because the ones that don’t are scant on fillings and that is unacceptable. Shrug off the mess and focus on all the good stuff that stayed inside.
Plus, the two new ones I learned this week:
- If you have a food processor, you can make rugleach dough in under 60 seconds. You don’t even need to warm the ingredients up first. [Imagine the praise-hands emoji inserted here.]
- Rugelach don’t need to be rolled into painstaking crescents to be amazing. I often seem them at bakeries in little sliced logs; they’re easier to make, just as delicious, and pack up more neatly in cookie tins. Or, you can have a little fun messing around with the shapes, as I did. Bonus: All of them are the simplest thing since rolled dough.
Rugelach, previously: As pinwheel cookies and also that one time I went to The Pioneer Woman’s ranch and made her cinnamon rolls with rugelach fillings.
Unfussy Rugelach
- 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- 1/2 pound (225 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/2 pound (1 8-ounce or 225-gram package) cream cheese
- 2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips or finely chopped bitter- or semi-sweet chocolate
- 1/3 cup toasted nuts, chopped small (I used walnuts)
- 1/3 cup dried fruit, chopped small; (I used tiny dried currants, no chopping needed)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup jam (I used seedless raspberry, apricot is more traditional)
- 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water or milk
- Remaining cinnamon-sugar from above
Dough
Filling
Finish
In a food processor: Place flour and salt in work bowl fitted with standard blade. Pulse to combine. Add cream cheese, chopped into large chunks, and run machine until it’s fully dispersed into the flour. Add butter in large chunks and run machine until dough starts to clump. Dump out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and form into a flattish disc.
With a mixer: Let butter and cream cheese soften at room temperature. Beat both together until light and fluffy. Beat in salt. Add flour, beating until it disappears. Scrape dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and form into a flattish disc.
Both methods: Chill dough until totally firm — about 2 hours in the fridge you can hasten this along in the freezer for about 30 minutes. (Dough keeps in fridge for up to a week, and in freezer much longer.)
Form the cookies:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F and line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
Stir cinnamon and sugar together in a small dish. Combine coarse mixture of chocolate, nuts and dried fruit in a second dish.
Divide dough into quarters and roll first quarter out on a floured counter into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 7 to 8 inches long, with the wider side to you. Thinly spread jam to all but the furthest 1/4 inch from you — which seals better once rolled if bare — with about 2 to 3 tablespoons jam. (I find that with seedless raspberry, 2T covers nicely but with thicker jam, you’ll need 3T to coat it thinly. If your jam is difficult to spread, you can warm it gently in the microwave for a few seconds first.) Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar mixture, then 4 tablespoons coarse fruit and nut mixture.
Roll dough from the 12-inch side in front of you into as tight as a log as you can, using your fingers to lightly seal the ends onto the log. Repeat with remaining logs.
Shape your cookies [see additional images at end of recipe]:
To make classic, easy sliced cookies: Place log of filled dough in freezer for 10 to 15 minutes; it will cut more cleanly once semi-firm. Trim ends from log so they have a clean shape. Cut log into 10 to 12 even slices. Arrange on prepared baking sheets a couple inches apart from each other.
To make a ring of spirals: Place log of filled dough in freezer for 10 to 15 minutes; it will cut more cleanly once semi-firm. Trim ends from log so they have a clean shape. Cut log into 10 to 12 even slices. Arrange them in a ring formation on prepared baking sheets so that each link touches. Do note: This will be the hardest to lift in one piece from the baking sheet once cool.
To make a pull-apart wreath: Form log into a ring, connecting the ends and smoothing the dough to seal the shape. Place ring in freezer for 10 to 15 minutes; it will cut more cleanly once semi-firm. On prepared baking sheet, cut 10 to 12 evenly spaced apart notches in ring, cutting through all but the last 1/4-inch of log so it stays connected.
To make a pull-apart log: Place log of filled dough in freezer for 10 to 15 minutes; it will cut more cleanly once semi-firm. Trim ends from log so they have a clean shape. On prepared baking sheet, cut 10 to 12 evenly spaced apart notches in log, alternating sides that you cut from, cutting through all but the last 1/4-inch of log so it stays connected.
To make a split log twisted together like a babka: Don’t. It was a flopped-open mess. We couldn’t even eat it. [biggest lie, ever]
For all shapes, to bake finish: Brush top(s) lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with a total of 1 teaspoon of the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on top. Individual cookies need to cool only a few minutes on baking sheet before they can be transferred to a cooling rack but larger rings, wreaths and logs do best if they cool at least 3/4 of the way to solidify more before attempting to carefully transfer them.
Do ahead: Cooled cookies keep in a container at room temperature for a week, and in the freezer for a month. Just not around here. Your filled log of rugelach is also easy to freeze, pre-baking, until needed. Wrap well, and you can slice it into cookies straight from the freezer, baking them while still frozen — you’ll just new a few extra minutes in the oven.
Ring of Rugelach Spirals
Pull-Apart Rugelach Wreath
Pull-Apart Rugelach Log
Split and Twisted Rugelach Log Flop
will you please convince everyone i know that it’s finally time to buy me a food processor for christmas this year, if only for this beauty? :)
Rachael — Yes. Send me their email addresses. (You think I’m kidding.)
Apple butter would be amazing in these. Snagging this recipe,for my 25 days of Christmas cookies!
My grandmother learned to make rugelach from a fellow schoolteacher, who’s husband’s family came from Poland. Her technique was to roll out the dough in confectioners sugar, not flour, and only sprinkle with cinnamon, fruit and nuts, no sugar mixed in. Apricot jam is perfect for the flavor balance. I also use dried currants since they’re smaller and get contained in the crescent better, they don’t burn like raisins. Parchment paper cures all leakage, in fact the burnt leaks are the best parts! I don’t know how my gram did it every Christmas without parchment paper, but for some reason it was not known in our house.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe and tips. I’ve tried many approaches over the years but really love this. I had to use vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, no egg wash (don’t judge, I love those vegan people). I actually found that the dough was easier to work with as crescents than logs!
Cecile, can also roll the dough in granulated sugar rather than flour!
These look amazing! I can’t wait to try them! Btw is there a difference between the European butters (Plugra) and American ?
Barbara — The difference is butterfat. European butters are higher in butterfat, lower in water. They do taste amazing, but here, either will work. (The absurd store in my neighborhood where I do most of my shopping charges SO much for regular butters that getting insanely fancy French stuff makes more sense, is the only reason you’re seeing it here these days.)
I on the other hand love making rugelach. I love the process, the taste of each step, dough to flaky goodness. I especially making wedges and rolling. I know, I know…
But, my body won’t let me eat dairy anymore. The textures can be recreated, but earth balance and fake cream cheese do not provide the flavor that butter and real cream cheese do. So, I don’t make them anymore. Enjoy one for me, please!
Your salvation just might be lactose free cream cheese. Whole Foods carries it in my area. Works in most recipes. Be aware that the organic lactose free cream cheese that I can get does not have stabilizers to “thicken up” the cheese. If you use it in a cheese ball the “ball“ may collapse. It’s worth a try here!
Yeeha! Have made the Rugelach from your book and I am so ready to try this speedier version. Pull-apart wreath here I come!!!! Thank you so much!
All I have to say is, “Thank you!!!!”
I feel the same ways about cookies/sweets vs. rugelach!!!
I don’t trust myself around it.
On the topic of butter, WHY is “normal” butter (even the offbrand-looking “Hotel Butter”) so expensive (like $7 or $8/pound expensive) at NYC grocery stores, when it’s so reasonably priced (more like $4 or $5) at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s? I get that the price of milk fluctuates, but when the more generic butters start to approach the price of the organic/European options, I get confused.
Pro tip/lifehack/worth every little calorie and maybe even the absurd price tag: Rugelach from Sadelle’s in Soho. Flakiest little bits of heaven around.
Was in NYC Dec 10th and 11th 2016. Saw an article in January 2016 Bon Appetit that mentioned Sadelle’s raspberry Rugelach and so decided I have to go!
Hike down to lower east side from Time Square and show up on Sadelle’s doorstep only to find out from them and I quote, “Oh we haven’t made those for a while.” I was devastated! Thankfully I am headed to Denver the end of January and going straight to Rosenberg’s Bagels, 725 E 26th Ave Denver. Not only are their bagels fantastic but the raspberry Rugelach they make is a religious experience for me. They are beyond delightful!! I could eat a dozen right now.
I was literally making rugelach when this was posted! I’m doing traditional apricot, raisins, walnuts, and in on sugar and another one with passion fruit curd. Super excited! This will be my first year making them as a Christmas cookie.
What is it about rugelach, I am so with you: I should not be alone near a whole sheet full of those delicious things ever. I’ve never even looked at another recipe than Ina’s since it was so perfect, good to know that they all are the same. Love the pull apart versions you’ve got here, it so shortens the time from just dough to in my tummy.
Nicole
There are so many reasons to love you but girrrrrl when I look at this post I see so much WORK! Work you did for us to make an amazing rugelach at home! You’re the best. I want to make this in every shape ever….so gorgeous. So tasty.
nzle — Don’t even get me started. I blame our lack of store brands. Whole Foods and TJs have them. The Westside by me has been selling Chimay and other fancy French butters for $2.99 for 8.9 ounces, which sounds weird but is kind of awesome because you get a little bit for spreading on toast plus 1/2 pound for baking in each package. What saddens me is that this is considered a good price.
Natalie — Went, tried, fell in love (mostly with the bagels). Let’s talk about those pastries! I am convinced they’re using a puffed pastry dough across the board. Did you try the cinnamon bun? Evil buttery flaky insanity — but definitely not a brioche/challah-style dough like usually use. The rugelach seemed cut from the same “cloth.” I should also add that we ordered a few rugelach to go and the guy at the counter decided to give us a whole box of goodies. I don’t know why, only that two didn’t even survive the cab ride home.
How do you expect to get any work done when you post recipes like this?? Rugelach are my absolute favorite and I love your easy method. Will have to try this weekend. Your daughter is gorgeous!
The first Rugelach I ever made was in the cut log form. It wasn’t called rugelach so I didn’t know any better! It was sliced partially through the log prior to baking. I was so intimidated by it needing to be rolled out that I had stared at the recipe for years before I tried it. Pft..it was so easy! The dough is very different from pie dough because it’s so much fattier it’s easier to roll out without those cracked edges. Unfortunately, I wasn’t happy with it. I didn’t consider that the inside of the cookie would be so soft, almost doughy, and it didn’t appeal to me at all. Once I discovered other rugelach recipes, I see where my mistake was; I had too much filling and too low a baking temp and had coated the baked cookie in powdered sugar, which softened the crunch out of it, like it does with a Mexican wedding cookie. Now that I’ve learned from my mistakes, I’m good!
Do you have a recommendation for a non-fruity “wet” filling? I want to make a purely chocolate/ cinnamon (possible with chopped nuts) version. Would the babka filling work? Or any other ideas? Thanks!!
Sarah, Add an egg white or two to the dry fillings, and spread that filling thinly on the dough. Works very well to hold everything in place. For years, that’s what I did with a different (sour cream-based) dough, using the yolks for the dough and the egg whites for the cinnamon/sugar/nut/ ground chocolate filling.
On how long they last in the freezer – I made some yesterday and baked about half. I rolled out the other half and froze. Would they be okay in the freezer until Christmas (about 2 weeks away) or is that too long? Thanks!
I can not believe I never thought of this before.
I have such wonderful memories of my Bubbie painstakingly rolling rugelach for us every visit, and she always made the cream cheese dough. I can’t wait to try the pull apart version! She would have whole-heartedly approved of this.
I have fig jam, fait á main, from provençale figues, because that’s where we live. Shall I use it?
Annnd – rugelach just made it on to my holiday “to do” list.
These look delicious!
Sarah (above) you can totally do just straight chocolate. I have made it with something like this:
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces or shavings
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Brush with melted butter, sprinkle w/cinn and sugar, and then chocolate.
You are pure evil. PS I love you!
You have a baby, right? And an older kiddo, right? Me too. HOW DO YOU DO IT?? Cooking all of your amazing recipes is ALL I want to do (outside of snuggling my babies…oh and the hubby too every now and again.)
I manage squeeze in about one recipe a week. THIS ONE is definitely my next one. I will enlist the sweet little hands of my four year old.
Anyway, all of this is to just say, you are awesome and you help feed my family delicious food. Can’t wait to make this one!
Have you tried Lee Lee’s rugelach, up in Harlem? I haven’t had Breads’ version, but Lee Lee’s is delicious. My Jewish father-in-law says it’s his favorite besides his own mother’s (though I suspect if hers were available to try side by side, she might lose out; apostasy, I know). I’m excited to try this version and see what we all think.
Love Rugelach!!!! Especially from Zabaars — would love to try making my own now.
Thank you for reaffirming my belief that my grandma’s rugelach dough with NO SUGAR is the best. I was almost tempted this year to try a recipe that had a little sugar in it, but now I’m sticking with the tried and true! Happy Hannukah!
so my sister from another mother….I was so glad to read your complaints about rugelach, because I too find it insanely tedious yet could not imagine my life if I didn’t make it at least once a yr. I flatten the dough into a circle and roll croissant/ crescent shaped yummies, and it’s a crazy lot of work. I use the Joy of Cooking dough recipe, and only fill w/ sugar/cinnamon/chocolate/dried fruit because jam is just too messy (my mom used jam and I tried the recipe from your cookbook and just cannot deal). Rugelach dough freezes beautifully in the freezer forever – as does your galette dough which is a freezer staple. I am famous for both my sweet and savory galettes, thanks to you dear Deb!
First: Reading your blog always makes me smile. I love how you talk to us readers, just as you’d talk to a friend over the phone or across a table.
Second: I’d love to see a pic of the counter where you roll out dough, as I am sure my counter space is even smaller!
Third: Did you REALLY go to Pioneer Woman’s home in Okla? I wld so love to watch that entire interaction on TV, from the vantage point of a New Yorker. I can’t imagine her ever calling rugelach by their proper name on TV.
Fourth: Fave. Hanukkah cutout cookie recipe?
Thx.
I have never tried rugelach but wow.. you can make it in so many different ways. Great tips here. Thanks very much for the recipe I shall try this soon.
Question: I have a cuisnart food processor and a ninja master prep (this one) http://www.amazon.com/Ninja-QB900B-Master-Prep/dp/B003XU3C7M/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1449253398&sr=8-5&keywords=ninja is the ninja a food processor? (trying to keep one of them not in contact with dairy).
Thanks!
Deb,
It is a horrible thing to see these and want to make them, but I’m on a no sugar diet, insert frown, thank you very much!!! I may make these anyway for gifts and screw the diet till January!! Insert happy face!!!
Any lover of rugelach should check out the entire chapter dedicated to rugelach in the new (ish) cookbook from my hometown hero, Mindy Segal: http://www.amazon.com/Cookie-Love-Techniques-Ordinary-Extraordinary/dp/1607746816
She has such amazing flavor combinations!
These cookies have been on my mind for the Christmas holidays. Have you ever filled them with CHESTNUT SPREAD? I just made some the other day for the first time & can’t decide what to do with it. This might be my filling. Any thoughts?????
Shoot. We were going to go sans holiday cookies this year because I’m baking so much at work. These appear to have caused a course correction, mostly because I forgot about rugelach. They became Dad’s favorites the first time I served them to him. Off to buy cream cheese. Thanks!
I AM SO EXCITED! I just decided to try and make a Rugelach this year as part of my holiday baking and I didn’t even know you had a recipe for them, really though I should have checked your site first, because I use all your recipes, along with Ina’s. In any event, I don’t like chocolate and wanted to use raspberry jam, do you have any suggestions for using anything other than chocolate?
Tayd — No, but I’d be happy to check it out!
Barb56 — 1. Thank you. 2. I can’t find a full picture right now but it’s basically a kitchen cart. I really want to replace the top with good wood but debating if it’s worth the expense. 3. I did! It was really cool to see it, and honestly how removed the place is from everywhere. Definitely the opposite of NYC in every way. 4. These are our family tradition.
WrittenPyramids — I am not sure. Hopefully someone who has one can respond.
Sarah — Great book, I’m a big fan!
Susie — I think it would be delicious. However, for me, a balance of tart and sweetness and nuttiness is essential in the filling. I would need chestnut + jam or chestnut plus minced dried fruit.
Anne — 1. I have a babysitter (but still, mostly spend all day eating her belly and getting no work done). 2. Playing around with rugelach has been on my to-do list for FIVE YEARS. Five! I finally cleared a few hours yesterday. It was such a nightmare of a mess we ordered dinner in.
Deb, you are a genius. I love rugelach, but I, too, find them too fiddly for frequent making. I love shortcuts that don’t sacrifice flavor.
This was perfectly timed – just revisited your rugelach pinwheel recipe this morning in preparation for some weekend baking! The pinwheel recipe calls for 1/4 c sugar in the dough, interested to try it without any sugar!
Totally agree about how time consuming rugelach is, but also how wonderful it is. It’s the whole back-in-the-freezer step that kills so many recipes for me. I don’t even bother anymore with pie crust, figuring that any difference in the final product is only going to be noticed by me. Because… who has that much space in their freezer? I mean, I have not yet become my mother, whose freezer is overfull of god-only-knows-what, but when recipes tell me to put whole large trays of things in the freezer, I always wonder what freezer space they are imagining we all have! Anyway, thanks for another great recipe…
Your graham cracker dough is my rugelach. I can’t make that dough without eating waaaaay more than I should straight up out of the bowl.
I absolutely love Breads, but find their version to be more chocolate croissant than rugelach! These, however, look absolutely perfect and I am now on a mission to make them in time for my Vodka and Latkes party Thursday night.
Ah, Breads Bakery, I miss it terribly! All the rye breads, the babka of course, but mostly the fantastic cheese straws. Still heartbroken over leaving the East Village, Manhattan, and access to all those bakeries :(
I’ve never heard of rugelach before, but you’ve just about convinced me that it is an absolute holiday necessity! I can’t eat cream cheese (and hubby won’t), so I might try a combo of sour cream/mascarpone. What do you think?
i mean, i have Totally wondered the same thing – how you do it! how do you not eat an entire dessert item, such as Smitten is so prone to make so well! but now i see. it is your kryptonite … rugelach. and, i am kind of with you on this one.
Wow, your timing is impeccable. On my way to work this morning, I was thinking about making my boyfriend some raspberry rugelach. I recalled you had a prior recipe so was thinking about making that, but lo and behold you posted this one today! I’ll be making this tomorrow, thanks! And I know my boyfriend will be thrilled; he loves all of your recipes, even the roasted broccoli one that I falsely attributed to you five years ago but still believe you somehow posted then (notwithstanding it doesn’t appear to have happened…).
Hi Deb! I just have to share these little tips…. not my invention but Marian Berry says to slice your cold butter up, add some luke warm water to the bowl,and wait for about 5 minutes and then drain off the water and Walahhh! room temp butter! For cream cheese a similar process but leave it in the sealed foil and aprox. 20 minutes. .. might be a little off on the time on this one but I am sure it’s not by much. These have saved me tons of time and frustration… not sure who the author of the cream cheese tip is but it works like a charm. Thanks for the inspiration! … :-) …
I’ve always been intimidated by rugelach but I think this might be the recipe that convinces me to try my hand at it! Just to clarify – one recipe will make 4 pull-apart rings?
I just finished making your rugelach pinwheels for a cookie exchange this weekend so the recipe is fresh in my mind – and your recipe for those uses sugar in the dough ;) i still find them absolutely delicious, but it’s funny to see how your rugelach dough recipe has changed over the years! i used apricot jam, toasted finely chopped almonds, and chopped dried cherries. mmmm.
Such a treat…but only make them at Christmas….and still have to cut the recipe in half so we don’t have so many around. !! Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing.
Looove rugelach, but my husband can’t eat dairy. Any luck finding a non-dairy version? I’ve cooked some before, but the texture is too much like a sugar cookie. I know it must be possible, though, as the pareve ones from the bakery are just as good…
You have succeeded where others have failed. Your recipe has officially put me in the Christmas spirit!
Argh! My life is instantly more complicated. I was planning to make the rugelach pinwheels. And now you throw this in the mix. What’s a girl to do?
But seriously, which one should I make…
I’ve never had rugelach. Could Nutella be used with nuts and dried fruit? My favorite thing to make right now is a braided yeast bread with Nutella.
Nutella works great! I just cut back on the sugar a bit in the nut mixture, use hazelnuts instead of walnuts and it is yummy!
I just finished making the fabulous pecan sandies which are to die for and now this? I can’t help myself. I guess I have to unearth my Cuisinart food processor. It’s so heavy I hardly ever use it anymore.
This looks AMAZING. I love how festive and fun this looks as a recipe, so different from your everyday bake. I wish I could have all of them in my kitchen right now!
Maybe I missed it in the recipe, but how long are you baking these? Did you have to adjust the time based on the shape?
Well, I’m making these as I type, and I’m afraid they are coming out A MESS! I’m so, so bummed and I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. They are spreading all over the place in the oven. Coming completely uncurled. Am now frantic as I was trying these for an event tonight. Ugh. I hate not measuring up to your beautiful pics!
Mine made a mess too. My analysis: overfilling, not rolling tight enough, slicing too thin and not spacing far enough apart for baking. All rookie mistakes. The cookies are delicious and if I try again next year I will know better.
I make your Rugelach Pinwheels every year for the holidays and they are hands down my family and friends favorite cookies. To not make them would cause a mutiny at this point. Now I will have to be adding to the Rugelach love and make these! Can’t wait to try them out!
AMAZINGGGG. I’ve been wanting to try making rugelach before but have been intimidated by its lengthy and intense process. I may have to try it now that you’ve layed it all out!
Oh man I had my holiday cookie list all trimmed down to only 9 kinds (yeah, I know) and, while I adore rugelach, I haven’t made them in several years because…well, you outlined it pretty well. But that ring is just too great an idea to pass up, especially for a holiday party.
(side note–one cookie that is also on my list is coffee shortbread that I make with your coffee toffee and add cocoa nibs to it. So. Good. Also, your rye pretzel cookies.)
Ha! Just made 3 batches of the original version from your cookbook for our Chanukah party on Sunday. Well, 2 and 1/3. The other 2 packets of dough are still in the fridge.
I am glad I am not the only one who bakes so much she then doesn’t have the time/clean space/energy to cook dinner!
Thank you for linking to your NYC list again! It’s just what I needed for my Christmas/turning 30 trip coming up this month.
Great recipe! :D Just wondering, do you have recommendations for swapping out the cream cheese for something not dairy?
Not a word stalker, I promise. But I read your post just as I was hoping online to see where I should eat since I’m in new york this weekend for my aunt’s birthday.
Bread is lovely! They make their hot chocolate from real chocolate! And I’m enjoying their cauliflower fritters.
On my way out I might have to make do with the chocolate rugelach, since they seem pretty much sold out of the other options. I’m looking forward to making that sacrifice.
Thanks.
Makes Ng this now- never made before but love to eat it! The dough clumped almost immediately after adding the first “chunk”- 2 tbsp- of butter in my cuisinart.now all the butter is in, but the dough is quite “wet” even after mixing for several minutes – is this normal??? Going to move forward- I trust you Deb…. Will keep you posted. Baking tomorrow…
Same happened to me. Wondering if it as a succcess or failure.
I love your responses to comments and questions…hysterical, informative, and ever slightly sassy. Thank you!
I love this, and happy to have found a fellow rugelah lover! I found a place near me in LA that has really good ones and have one before many of my workouts. Yes, just one…somehow. I might just have to try to make my own now. Thank you!
Love that you included the “flop” at the end. I’m with you, I’d have scarfed it up too. Maybe even faster because all the yummy filling is right there for all to see. Great cookies, always loved them. That “Peak Baby” you have there is a winner recipe too!
I just returned from Israel and the chocolate rugelach from Marzipan in Jerusalem are as good as people would have you believe. But these…. These look amazing. And I can’t believe the recipe has been sitting on my cookbook shelf!
That’s the same dough recipe that our favorite Christmas cookie uses. We call them Kiffles and they are also a labor of love. Dough chilled, quartered, rolled, cut into 2″ squares and topped with a tiny bit of jam before being folded over and baked. Then rolled in sugar. This is a recipe passed down from my dad’s German ancestors and it’s my job to make them every year. I never realized rugelach used the same recipe. I’m so trying this.
This looks amazing! I have a technical question that applies to all your rolled dough recipes (just made your orange cranberry buns for thanksgiving – delish!). Question is, how do you roll your dough into that freakishly perfect rectangle?! I’m more of a sloppy rectangle-ish roller & I’d love to know the secret as the end result would be soooo much neater! Thanks :)
Hi Deb, love your recipes and comments. Thank you for creating such a wonderful site! Would love to try the rugelach recipe, I also grew up on kiffles and rugelach from an extended family member but my daughter has a tree nut allergy(she feels so left out of great culinary experiences at times). Any ideas to replace the nuts but still have a similar result? I think using peanuts would change the taste too much.
Those look amazing! I like how you’ve incorporated so many different shapes and sizes too, they all look lovely :)
Oooo, I know it’s probably blasphemous to say, but what do you think of these with a savory filling?
Oy, Deb, I have been on a gluten-free (silly-ack!) diet for ten years, and while it has changed my life permanently for the better, in all my years of messing around with rice-potato-buckwheat-corn flours i have never managed to come close to creating anything resembling the rugelach of my youth. Thank you for nailing the description of rugelach to the wall; they really are wonderful and perfect and proof that the universe wants us to be happy. I have to go re-evalaute my life now.
I would like to add Sarabeth Levine’s dough recipe to Deb’s list of stellar formulas: 1/2 pound each butter and cream cheese, vanilla, salt, 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour, and 2 tablespoons superfine sugar. It’s easy to work with without being tough and browns nicely, I’m guessing both of those due to the small sugar addition? My household relishes most deeply a citrus-infused poppyseed rugelach filling. Happy holidays to all of you fabulous baking mavens!
I was so psyched to see this post! I’ve been making rugelach every Hannukah for years, but always kind of dread it because it is such a big job and mess. I can’t wait to try some of your tips and these shapes for tomorrow night’s Hannukah party. Thanks, Deb! And Happy Hannukah!
So my cousin invited us over for the first night of Hanukkah, and I said we’d bring dessert. The thing is that they live an hour away, so I needed a recipe that would travel well and not have to be heated right before serving. I checked this website and BAM! This was the first thing that came up.
The only possible interpretation is that this rugelach recipe needs to be made (and eaten) in my house as soon as possible and all the time. I’ll just have to take one for the team–who am I to argue with fate?
RE Renée’s comment above about savory rugelach: A good friend of mine makes savory hamentaschen every year. They are AMAZING. My favorite is the spinach and feta.
I must have been living under a log, I have never had rugelach. This looks like a must try, I can’t wait to make it.
I worked in an NJ bakery when I was young and the rugelach there was my favorite – and a perk of being on the staff was you got to eat all you wanted:-D I’m SO excited to try this for the holidays! Question though – I’m allergic to nuts. I know I could make them without, but I do love the crunch and texture nuts add. Is there something else anyone could recommend as a replacement? Would peanuts be tasty, or pine nuts? Oh man, I may have just answered my own question… any other suggestions?
I’m making these this Sunday, looks like a highly do-able project and we love rugelach even though we 1. do not live in NYC but would love to 2. dream about Zabar rugelach and buy every time we are in Manhattan 3. cannot find reasonably priced and delicious rugelach in the Boston area 4. feel so sophisticated and east coast-y when we do have it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Rugelah wreaths! Is this a great country or what?
Hi Deb – do you have a recommendation to do this nut free? I’ve always wanted to try these but haven’t because of nuts. My son can’t eat them so I have to steer clear of them completely. Any suggestions for replacement?
Have you ever made Ina Garten’s rugelach? It’s one of the first complicated things that I ever made – 16 years ago! – and I agree that rugelach is pretty foolproof. Her dough is identical to yours, except she adds 1 t vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar.
Do you think I can make this without cinnamon? (Allergy issue)
Your posting is somewhat kismet. I hosted a pre-Hanukkah Book Group last night and made rugelach on Thursday to serve. One golden rule I have found over the years is that there is no substitute for Philadelphia Cream Cream (although you can use the ⅓ less fat version) all others taste off to me. Sitting down this morning to cherry rugelach w/dried cherries and coffee was heaven. Going to try your recipe for Friday night Hanukkah wit my husband’s family. PS: Made your broccoli cheddar soup, delicious!, almost everyone had seconds. Thank you!
PS: Also made your Potato Kugel (never made one before). None left since everyone had to take some home. My husband snuck in to have two pieces with homemade apple sauce and a little sour cream. Your are the best!
Deb, excuse my lack of knowledge on rugelach… is this similar to delcos? A bakery near me sells delcos and I’ve wanted to recreate it (or find recipe) without much luck. Thanks.
I will make this tomorrow on my day off. Can`t wait… And probably it will also be my winner recipe at my job`s cookie bake-off this year :D
I love to make rugelach, mixing and matching the filling ingredients.Sometimes I’ll do one batch of crescents if I am in a traditional sort of mood. Usually I roll and slice them. I like to keep the cut rugelach in the freezer and bake it as needed. There is nothing in the world better than rugelach fresh from the oven. I like to roll the dough out on floured wax paper. It makes clean up easy. I have also found that rugelach is one of the easiest cookies to adapt for family members who can not eat sugar. I just use Splenda (or one of the others) sugar free jams, nuts and sugar free chocolate chips. You don’t get that same stickyness but the cookies are better than any sugar free one you can buy and my family members love being able to indulge in the rare homemade treat.
You nyc folks need to find an Aldi right now. This week butter is on sale for around 3 per lb and never goes over too far away from that to begin with. Maybe in the city the prices are different – I can’t say. So if you have one in your neighborhood or even a subway ride away, get thee over there and bake bake bake. And their cream cheese is about a buck per 1/2 lb slab. They’re owned by Trader Joes so you’ll find the quality is (mostly) stellar. Just sayin’.
Thank you so much for this recipe. Faster than ever rugalah!! Crunchy oozes…oddball ends with too much of everything. overdoing all of it and making a lot of chewy crunchy mess. Oh heavens. My hips really needed this. Honestly because they weren’t round enough.
My processor is in storage but I kept the handydandy ninja monster so I can make protein smoothies which I’m going to need like crazy when I have to starve myself for a while after all this holiday cooking and baking is done. I hope this doesn’t blow it out because I will need to drink my way to (relative) slimness and health when all is said and done.
Deb, You are insane! And thank you for being so! I feel the same way about rugelach that you do. I am taking your bossy comments to heart and getting to work in the kitchen immediately.
Do you think you could make this without the cinnamon? (Allergy issues)
Deb, did I miss how long you bake the cookies at 350degrees? (using the traditional or cinnamon roll method)
Thanks.
It’s rainy here in the Pacific Northwest and the forecast is for at least 6 more days of it. I will make a rugelach ring and nothing else will matter. Thank you for the rescue…I mean recipe.
Favorite dough recipe. I keep trying different jams to see if they will not leak out so much.
Love love being able to easily make mini pastries. Thanks!
Deb, I have got to tell you, this post really hit home! For about as long as I can remember my siblings and I have forfeited any other holiday cookie in an effort to sway my mom into making her rugelach (she does red currant jelly+nut crescents). That poor woman though haha, each year you can see the look of resignation on her face as she agrees to the sometimes two-day, 182636 step process. However, I think you just inspired me to add my own batch to the mix…I mean a rugelach pull apart log? Say whaaaat?? (insert heart eyed emoji here)
I had a frustrating massive rugelach fail (it was summertime, hot and humid). I gave up and made it into one big, very rustic tart by just rolling, filling and folding edges over toward center, then putting on topping. Looked great and everyone loved it:)
This looks really good, but I’d have to go for a tree-nut-free version. I don’t think peanuts would be the same, what about sunflower seeds? (my go to for pesto), or should I just add in extra fruit?
Is the 1½ “tablespoons” of cinnamon correct? (I was expecting “teaspoons”). Thanks for your inspiration, Deb!
@#83 Joanna…how about roasted and salted sunflower seeds? Yum!
Deb; my favorite modern artist is Al Hirshfeld and the best part of the Sunday Times for me was to look for the Ninas. Now, when your blog appears, what is the 1st thing I look for?? It took me awhile to figure it out, but I have the hang of it now. Thanks for sharing in your own special way. I have never made rugelach but it will be great to make them with my grandchildren; maybe a new tradition for Hanukkah. Your recipe, along with all the notes, should make it a breeze.
ism
I made the dough, filled it, rolled it up and made it into a pull apart wreath, which looked gorgeous until I popped it in the oven and the butter started to melt out. Any thoughts on how to prevent it?
Wonder what you think about using a prune filling – such as Solo? I love Kolacki (probably not the correct spelling), but they also are tedious to make. Do you think it might work? I may just give it a whirl!
Finally! I’ve been waiting for you to post a classic rugelach recipe since the rugelach pinwheels post. I’m not even remotely Jewish but I make rugelach a lot. Like, at least once a month. Often more. My Jewish friends think it’s hilarious but never seem to have any issues with accepting my rugelach gifts.
I mostly agree with you on the dough – no sugar and all recipes are the same – but I have also tried yeasted rugelach recipes – especially this one. https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/guest-recipe-oma-and-bellas-rugelach
They’re a completely different animal but delicious in their own way. And I may get a lot of hate for saying this but I don’t really like the rugelach at Marzipan Bakery in Jerusalem – they’re basically mini chocolate croissants. No.
Also agreed on the leaking but my jam always leaks out and burns and causes me so much distress, but I’ve gotten better at dealing with it. Deep breathing helps. As does wine. Sometimes I like to chop or grind extra nuts and dip the cookies in wash and then into the nuts for a super delicious nutty topping. I learned that here: http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/192753/my-grandmothers-rugelach
But I digress! Your pull-apart ring has made me almost cry with joy, I’m off to get some cream cheese right now.
Oh my goodness, Deb. I had never made rugelach before, but the recipe in your book has been dog-eared since 2013, and WOW. It’s midnight here and I just ate the first six (heh, I regret nothing) that came out of my oven. THE FLAKINESS!!!!
So the big question here is, what else can we do with an awesome dough like this?! Does it have other uses?
WOW how incredible do these look! This shows how creative and diverse a single recipe can be like amazing I love it and will try out the recipe! xoxo Katie http://whatskatieupto.com
I need to try all of these versions, they look amazingly delicious, and I’m almost a hundred percent sure that this wouldn’t survive a single day!
Am I correct in assuming that these are calorie free so we can eat lots of them his Christmas? Looking forward to making some.
Deb, have you been to Pisticci on the Upper West Side? It’s a totally charming little Italian restaurant with some of the best spaghetti and meatballs I’ve had in a restaurant. I go almost every time I’m in NYC: http://www.pisticcinyc.com.
Thank you for having a knack for such perfect timing! (last year it was the babka I had been wanting to try from the Jerusalem cookbook…) I was planning on making batches of several kinds of gourmet cookies for gifts but I wasn’t excited about it for some reason – and then you posted this recipe and I knew this was IT. Now I am excited! And the rugelach ring idea is truly fantastic, especially for gifts and presentation. Exactly why you are a pro with a capital P.
I just made these and even though my technique is lacking and they aren’t pretty, they are delicious! I have a question, though. I used the food processor method to make the dough and I ended up really only having enough dough for 3 logs… It took quite a bit of pulsing to get the ingredients combined and I was afraid to overwork it. Was I doing something wrong, I wonder? There were pretty big pieces of butter left in the dough as well. Thanks for another winner!
We have been following your blog, since we started blogging ourselves and we were just fascinated by this post. We are all for baking shortcuts! We tried the recipe today, the dough came together beautifully and the rugelach were just fabulous. What a wonderful recipe! I sent some to my mother in law who is an excellent baker and comes from a family of wonderful ashkenazi bakers, she loved them!
The hardest part was to roll the dough into a rectangle, any tips on that?
I’m another one who is looking for a tree nut substitute due to allergies in the family. I’m wondering if chopped sunflower seeds would provide the most similar flavour?
Made them. Ate them. Along with the Potatoe Kugel. Great first night of Chanukah. Thank you.
These were a huge winner. Easy to make and delicious. Skipped chocolate but used extra nuts and fruit. Major yum!
Deb-I have been making Ina’s version for years-and they are always a hit. She uses a quarter cup of sugar, but I am going to try your version as well. Yes, making them can be tedious and messy, but everyone loves them-and it does get easier as you go. I make a large batch as part of teacher gifts and for family and friends. This post comes just in time, as I am getting ready to start baking-and my sister just sent me a request. Happy baking everyone!!
These are amazing!Better than any other recipe I’ve tried and pretty much any store-bought rugelach I’ve ever had. Can’t wait to make them again!
I find rugelach dough very easy to work with (after it sits in the fridge for an appropriate time), Rather than roll in a rectangle, I usually divide the dough into quarters, cut in wedges, and roll each up from outside to in. To me, this is much easier that trying to roll the log and then cut (but I do like the way that looks). I have long wanted to try using the dough to make a savory appetizer, with a cheezy filling but have yet to try. I LOVE your posts!
Forgot to add roll the dough in a circle (add toppings); then cut into wedges…
They were easy and AMAZING!
I’ve never heard of rugelach before, but they look awesome, especially the pull-apart version. I need to try this recipe, thanks for sharing it!
This is so pretty!
The best rogelach are Marzipan bakery’s from the Machane Yehuda Shuk in Jerusalem. These do look good though – I’m not sure that if I had the time I wouldn’t just go and buy from Marzipan though – it’s a good thing for my waistline that I don’t live that close.
Wowza, I’ve been toying around whether to make these or not, & I think this just sealed the deal. I have homemade apple butter in the fridge just begging to be used:) To “WrittenPyramids”, I have 2 ninjas (1 older, 1 newer) & I have used both to make pie crusts & tart crusts. My only suggestion to pay close attention & to not over process the dough, because if you do, there’s no coming back to save it :(
Happy Holidays!!!
I love that pull apart wreath! Such a great idea for a party or brunch!
I have wanted to make rugelach because I love them so much but the fussiness of rolling up the individual crescents always puts me off. This blog post came at the perfect time — just as I was deciding what to bring to a cookie exchange this past weekend. I made a double batch of these in the easy sliced version — yes yes yes!!!
Rugelach will now be part of my cookie repertoire.
Deb, do you think this would work with homemade cranberry orange relish instead of the jam?
This is just the encouragement I need to try my hand at rugelach, thank you so much for sharing!
I made this over the weekend. The dough was a little tricky at first but with the right amount of flour on the counter, by the time I rolled out the third piece I had it right. Instead of raspberry jam, I used Smuckers Natural Orange Marmalade. I don’t like all the dried fruits so I simply used more chocolate chips and walnuts and the cinnamon and sugar. The combination of the orange marmalade, chocolate, walnuts, cinnamon and sugar all wrapped in that amazing pastry crust was so delicious. While raspberry may be traditional, im going with the orange marmalade from now on.
great discussions on rugelach and i loved all of your ideas on using wonderful cream cheese dough to make different shapes.
re: the savory version
i just wanted you to know i am making your beautiful wreath but with a slightly smaller log filled with mushroom duxelles for an appetizer to bring to a house party this weekend. its a pot luck and it has to feed about 25 guests.
as far as the butcher block topped baking cart goes. i made one years ago and used aluminum angled metal between the four legs. and it holds about 8 half sheet pans between the legs. or they can be adjusted to have more space between for larger higher items like cakes.
its held up great, rolls around to be hidden away and the feet lock. it can easily be made with a purchased piece too.
Deb, I love you, and therefore I have to ask: What, and I mean what, does this have to do with Hanukkah? #petpeeve
Amy — Super-behind on comments this month, but catching up: they’re traditionally a Jewish cookie, but don’t have more to do with Hanukah than any other Jewish holiday. However, we always make them in December because Hanukah all the other holidays have more specific traditional desserts (flourless or honey cakes or something dairy, etc.)
The recipe looks fantastic, but I’ve got to ask – one and a half TABLESPOONS of cinnamon to 135g sugar? Really? Is that a typo for teaspoons, or is it just that being English, I’m miserly with the cinnamon?
I have made two batches of these delicious desserts, of which I actually ate one whole batch myself. Each time, while baking in the oven, the rugalach emits tons of grease and I have to turn the fan on to clear out all the smoke. Is this normal?
I’ve made rugelach a couple times, including once using Dorie G’s recipe, but any recipe you offer is bound to be wonderful, so I’m gonna give these a try, too. Thanks!
Thanks for the post, Deb – I’m inspired! So, what is it about Rugelach? For me it’s all in the bite – the soft, the doughy, the sticky, the crisp outer tap on the teeth … and how this bite sensation combines with whatever concoction is in the folds! Simply magical. Happy Holidays!
Hi deb, Just made this recipe to take to a party this past weekend. Here’s my question. Your photos look like they were made with half the dough (or more). My quarter of the dough roll out came out with a much smaller ring of rugelach–for example. Yours looks so much more appealing because it is larger. Did you use more dough? Also made your spicy tangy brisket for a Hanukah party. And it was a big hit.
I’m getting the cream cheese tomorrow. I can’t think of a better sweet to make tomorrow and eat most of, tomorrow night.
On our local tv station today someone made rugelach dough using vanilla ice cream! I was in absolute shock. My dear Bubby, looking down from Heaven, would be appalled.
Looks amazing!! Any chance I can substitute the cream cheese for a non dairy option?
I love your idea of ‘pull apart’ rugelach!!! I have stooped over my cutting board while painstakingly making my rugelach, but chile— it is worth it. I will try your method post haste!
You went to a lot of work. Looks amazing. By the way, your kids are both so beautiful and happy looking. So nice to see! :)
These are so gorgeous, Deb! Agreed – that cheesy tang of cream cheese makes this treat totally irresistible.
Been making ruglach for over 40 years….this is by far the best recipe I’ve ever made!
Made the pull apart wreath….beautiful!
Also made the traditional sliced version….lovely!
Thanks, Deb, for your beautiful, delicious recipe!
I made these for my mom as soon as I saw the post — rugelach is one of her favorite desserts, and she said the ones I made from your recipe were the best she ever had, and even better on day 2. I did one log with raspberry jam and walnuts and another with apricot jam and walnuts, and I added a bit more sugar to the filling than you suggested (and probably used more jam than you did, though a lot of it seeped out and turned into fruity caramel on the parchment paper). Thank you for another great recipe that I will certainly be using again and again!
Breads rugelach is heavenly, have been a fan wince they first opened. Happy to see other people like them too!
My son is teaching his son about other faiths this year so maybe this will be part of our Christmas dinner this year. I love involved recipes that take forever (I’m weird), and I love that my son is such a good father and takes the time to help his little guy think for himself.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Like many of you I can’t stop eating these, if they are in my house but my grandchildren deserve them, right? Of late, I have been using Cup4Cup gluten free flour and have had lots of luck with substituting it for regular flour in my regular recipes. I’m going to try it with this recipe and see how it comes out.
The pull-apart version is basically marrying monkey bread and your rugelach, which means I must make it immediately.
If you’re up for it, maybe you can experiment with a croissant recipe one day? Once I was introduced to a chocolate-almond option (and stopped having to make the hideous and cruel choice between the two) I never went back…until we moved away from the neighborhood in Brooklyn that had the best ones. I’m wondering if it’s worth it to take on croissants at home.
Loved hearing you on Leonard Lopate yesterday; great tips for latkes!
Hi Deb,
I just made this and it seems that the jam/sugar mixture has leaked out causing a carmel mess covering the parchment paper. Did you ever have this problem, or do you know why this may have happened?
Thank you,
Elizabeth
I am not sure what went wrong but I ended up with all the butter leaking out of the pastries while baking and underbaked Rugelach. I had to increase the temp to 375 for the second batch which seemed to help but they were still not cooked thru. They taste good so we are eating them. I used the food processor method, maybe I’ll use the mixer next time.
Thank you for holding my hand through this process! They came out amazing and I didn’t even have to roll up tiny crescents!
Made these today and – man, are they delicious – but I made the traditional sliced ones, straight out of the freezer, and they really unrolled and leaked all over. I knew to expect some leakage, but I really have to pry these off the parchment because they’re pretty glued on. I’m wondering if I should try a different shape (wreath?) with the last three rolls? What’s the best shape to get them to keep their insides and not unroll?
I went ahead and made them without cinnamon. Delicious!
Deb, oh Deb. I love rugelach so much. I live in the DC area and it’s impossible to find a decent bakery rugelach here. I’m so jealous of all the comments from all you New Yorkers comparing bakeries. I’m so glad you mention the leaking. It’s really the best part. The way it caramelizes on the bottom, kinda like an inverted brulee from a crème brulee. I’m dying here craving great rugelach now. I always though making rugelach was incredibly difficult and yielded hu hum results, but your posts and all the comments make me want to try this now. Thank you Deb.
Made these on Sunday and still getting major praise from colleagues and friends. Really delicious recipe. I left out the chocolate chips, seemed a bit much to me but I do want to try a chocolate chip version, sans the other ingredients.
Make these! They’re easy too!
Nice recipe! I made them with pecans, since that’s what I had. I used apricot jam (strained), then plum when I ran out of apricot. Yes, they do leak onto the parchment as they bake, especially if you are not sparing with the jam. However, it’s easy to use a knife to scrape up the leakage and kind of paste it back onto the pastries as they cool. The dough is exceptionally easy to work with.
AE — I definitely always have butter leak (though I wouldn’t say all leaks out; also, the fat could equally be from the cream cheese). Ignore it. As you said, they taste good. For underbaking, of course, just needs more time next time.
Tara — How did you sit them on the tray — seam side down, laying cut sides/spirals-down, etc?
Elizabeth — Yes, as I mention above, the filling always leaks. Less jam = less leakage so you can always keep it as thin as possible. But the jam is also part of the flavor.
Delcos — I had never heard of them! But, the one recipe I found online looks quite similar in dough… maybe had a little more flour, so more sturdy.
Leah — Thanks, re: Lopate. I have never been able to muster the enthusiasm to make croissants when there are such amazing ones available freshly baked around here. I’m spoiled! And, if I’m going to eat all that butter, I want it to be exceptional and most first attempts I see are not. I leave it to the pros.
amy — I made a double-batch of dough and divided into 1/8th by weight so fairly exactly the same size per log as instructed above. I do have some zoomed-in photos, however. This might be why it seems bigger. I do roll the dough quite thin to get it 12″ wide and 8″ long.
Lucy — Yes, 1.5 tablespoons. Most cinnamon-sugar is 1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup sugar so this is actually on the lower end.
Amy — Only that they’re a traditional Jewish cookie/pastry thus are often revisited this time of year. … That said, I am always hesitant to call foods that are really just Central or Eastern European Jewish because if you look around those areas, there are many many crescent-shaped cookies made with similar formulas, just other dairy products (quark, farmer’s cheese, etc. all mentioned above) for the cream cheese, which is much more of an American product.
Mil, re cran/orange relish — Yes, it would work. Definitely go for the thickest (least watery) jam or relish that you can, however. The wetter it is, the more leakage.
in irma’s kitchen — Thank you for the bit about the cartoons! I never knew and reading the backstory (well-described here) was a delight.
Nancy — The cinnamon or almost any other ingredient that’s not in the dough can be nixed or adjusted; the fillings are flexible.
Kim — All will bake for between 20 and 25 minutes.
OK, the pans in your pictures must be quarter, not the standard half sheet pans. I made this and was shocked by how small my wreath was.
cookiemonster — They are. I’ve only ever had tiny ovens, can’t fit half-sheets in!
The dough is the same one I have made for years. I have always made the log. Didn’t know the log could be frozen prior to baking, thank you so much for that tip. What do you recommend wrapping the log in prior to freezing? I am thinking will freeze on a baking sheet and wrap after frozen, your thoughts?
Made this on Sunday and they’re already gone. Making them again today. Can’t believe how easy this is AND delicious! My Jewish mother-in-law who is not impressed by anything I do, LOVED them. My only issue was I had a really hard time rolling up my logs. My dough kept breaking but hopefully this time will be easier.
Deb, my 1″ cut ruglach tend to lean over while baking.
What am I doing wrong?
BTW: they are absolutely delish anyway!!
Jan — Nothing at all. You can: cut them wider, squish them down to more oval-shaped so they tip less or use a little less jam in the filling (which tends to make them more slippery) to get them to stand up. You can also bake them cut side-down.
mmmm, rugelach! The last time I was in NYC I stayed a few blocks from Zabar’s.
I made a test batch yesterday, old school crescent shape. nice! A few just got homemade raspberry jam and sliced almonds – nice, but too tangy, the traditional filling is better.
Could these go savory? say fig jam, stilton, walnuts? or dried tomatoes/pesto/pine nuts/nutty cheese (gruyere, or part-skim mozza – I like it better than fresh, I’m weird)?
I think your knish will be a weekend project.
cheers,
Jake.
I divided the dough only into 2 and so probably didn’t roll it thin enough….but I got huge puddle of something. Butter? Has this happened to you?
We couldn’t even eat it. [biggest lie, ever]
You are such a treasure, Deb! That is all!
Hi Deb! Answering your response from above… I stood them up, seams down. Is laying them down better? Mine seemed a little thinner than yours – maybe if I cut them wider (like 10 pieces instead of 12?)
Oh my god rugelach are my favorite holiday cookie! My Ukranian grandmother used to make this all the time growing up..and a pull apart version. Oh my god. Genius.
I have the roll of dough in my freezer – should I wait for it to defrost a bit before I do the egg wash and cinnamon sugar? It also looks like you put the sliced ones with the seam side down. Do you think that helps keep them from unrolling?
First, the rugelach. The recipe is amazing. Easy to follow, even with two four-year- olds running around (bonus that they LOVE to push the food processor button). We used nutella rather than jam, planning them for our upcoming Hanukkah party. We will need to make a second batch, as the first batch somehow didn’t stick around until party time.
Second, a long time coming thank you. Deb, your recipes perfectly tap into my desire to cook and therefore, feed my family. Thank you so very much for what you do. (Case in point: knishes from your recipe are my husband’s Hanukkah present).
Lastly, if anyone needs to know how to adapt a Smitten recipe to make it egg-free, you can ask me! My son is allergic and I’ve successfully (I think) converted many of these loved recipes.
Oh, my!!! How have a missed tasting a rugelach in my long life? These are amazing! Thank you!
These were called “the best rugelach” ever! I made them with my own goat cream cheese and we like to keep our flavors separate, so we had 5 rolls with various flavor combos. SOO good and so easy, I cant wait to make them again. Thanks!
Nice. I’ll try using mincemeat for a Xmas variant.
Deb,
My fav Holiday cookie hands down. And THANK YOU so much for replying upthread about how you manage to “do it al”. That simple response, “i have a babysitter” instead of so many people who answer, “well it takes extra organization, and my husband is really helpful”. makes me feel approximately 100% better about my attempts with my 4yr old and 2yr old home. Thank you.
I went to NYC for the first time this summer and went to Breads, it was AMAZING. I walked there from where we were staying, and if we had bumped into each other I would have absolutely fan-girled. I can’t want to make these. Can you eat these for breakfast? (of course you can, right?) Thanks for another great recipe!
Made these this weekend and they were a huge hit! They are dangerous to have around – people can’t stop eating them once they start. Thank you for the great recipe. Will definitely be making them again.
I made the classic sliced version – so delicious! I used almonds and currants — no chocolate — and I think a tad more raspberry jam than suggested. Tip to others: make sure you follow the instructions when slicing so you don’t get too thin rugelach. I was slicing-happy, and made some of mine too thin, causing them to tip over in the oven and become somewhat wacky spirals (but they still tasted good!).
Made these the other day (standard cut rugelach) and they came out great! HUGE amount of leakage which resulted in me tearing a bunch of the cookies because the jam dried into a hard sticky sheet. DEFINITELY using less jam next time but otherwise, perfect. Thank you!
Made these over the weekend. I tried the cookies and stood them up but they all fell and the jam oozed out in the oven. The pull apart wreath worked better but it was still sitting in a jammy buttery mess.
My husband Jeremy is the baker in the family and I requested he make this a recipe to bring to a Chanukah party we were invited to. He photographed the finished product and posted it on Facebook where it proceeded to do our small version of ” going viral”. The rugelach was a huge hit at the party. I personally are large quantities of it because something stressful happened at the party and I proceeded to eat my feelings. Jeremy made his with apricot jam, nuts and currants. His did not come out messy at all, but then again Jeremy is a freak of nature when it comes to making food look as good as it tastes. This was literally one of the best things I have ever eaten and Jeremy will be making it again and again.
Apologies if I missed a discussion of same in the eleventy bajillion comments above, but for the pull-apart wreaths am I really supposed to cut the dough in quarters and make a wreath out of each piece? The resulting logs were so small I almost couldn’t bend them into rings without breaking. With a mighty exercise of will (plus a lot of eating of spillage–yum) I managed it. And they baked fine. But I was wondering if maybe there was a typo and I should have rolled the whole batch into one big delicious Circle of Stuff? Either way, I’m a happy camper: this recipe is transplendent.
Just made these for an Xmas party because i’m ornery like that and i’ve already eaten a half dozen. i’m not much of a baker especially of desserts and these came out great. they did come out a bit messy, but pretty, except that the fillings and sugar melted on the bottom of the pan which made transferring them from pan to rack to container messy and about half of them broke or crumbled a bit. NO MATTER, when it’s in the belly you don’t think about what it looked like…
I’d like to put in a plug for Bonelle Bakery on Ascan Ave. in Forest Hills. Its a bakery so loved it inspires activism (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/bonelle-pastry-shop-stays-open-article-1.2068194). I bring pounds of their rugelach back to my adopted southern hometown every time I visit my parents in Queens. The freshest rugelach I’ve ever had outside of someone’s home. Worth a try!
You must have been reading my mind about the mess of rugelach! I love making and eating these but mess of rolling those triangles and chilling, ack! I made your version this morning and it was quite satisfying. There was a lot of ooze but I pushed them back onto the cookies. And, some pieces fell over just like your picture. Oh, and the food processor tips about not having to bring the cream cheese and butter to room temperature? Genius!
Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in…I made these for a holiday party at work and they did not disappoint! My husband was a huge fan! So glad I read the comments about the “run-off”, because some of the inside filling did leak out, but it definitely did not affect the cookie. I made the dough in my food processor and had it in the fridge for 4 days…and honestly this was no harder than any other roll-out cookie. Amazing!!!
Jim — The rings are very small! My baking sheet is 9×13 so I realize (as someone else noted) that this makes the wreath seem longer than they are. You can play around — make a double-long log into a wreath, for example — all shapes should work.
So disappointed with the dough. Made this twice and had the same issue with the dough each time. Chilled in the refrigerator over night but both times got so soft as soon as I put the rolling pin to it. Expected it to roll out like pie dough but it was a complete mess instead! Taste was terrific but ended up baking a messy cookie instead of beautiful Rugelach. Have made other recipes with no issues! HELP!
These were fantastic! I sliced them on the thinner side and sat them cut side down on the cookie trays. Wonderful, and the dough was so simple to make with my food processor. The dough was a dream to work with, rolled out so easily, and was tender and a bit flaky after baking. I will absolutely make this again!
Oh thank you for this. My mom just pulled them out of the oven and they are the most perfect ruggelech ever- flaky, perfect dough. We did the partially sliced, pull-apart version. Thank you for always having such infallible, special recipes.
My mom made rugelach every year for Christmas. She had gotten the recipe from some Jewish neighbor years before and decided that it was perfect for the holidays. I remember as a little kid watching her name the dough, chill it and then roll it out. She always had extra for us to create our concoctions. My favorite (that I made) was cinnamon and sugar, but it couldn’t compare to her raspberry, coconut and chopped walnut mixture (she also used apricot preserves and nuts). My mom never cut the logs before making- she would always bake them whole and then slice them as soon as they came out of the oven. The insides would be so tender and flaky, and utterly delicious. I’ve tried many rugelach but have never found any like hers because they are all cut and baked, and therefore crispy. After she passed away I searched and searched for her recipe but never found it. I’m going to make these with my kids today- can’t wait to try them hot from the oven!
For those with 250 g blocks of cream cheese, the flour weight is about 290 g (289 g actually, but heck, no-one’ll notice the 1 g difference).
We’re about to embark on the rugelach and so looking forward to it. I’ll get the kids to think of flavours to put in. I’m going to do some chestnut and maybe apricot jam and nuts! Thanks so much for the inspiration.
This is the second time I’ve made these, and they turn out delicious. BUT … the dough! It’s not pretty and neat as in your pictures. Every roll has multiple places where it’s stuck to the floured surface, and breaks open. I refrigerate and followed your instructions to a “t”. Any ideas? They’re tasty and great for my family, but not pretty …
Renee — Which shape are you using?
Hey Deb! I always read through the comments before asking questions, but I have to ask for one clarification on this. If we choose to use the food processor, should the butter and cream cheese be closer to cold than room temp? I read a comment or two about the dough being difficult and was wondering if throwing room temp butter/cream cheese in a food processor would make a sticky dough instead of cold fat being cut into the flour like a pie dough. I did see the note saying with food processor, ingredients don’t need to be warmed up, but the directions don’t really specify whether or not you’re processing cold butter/cream cheese. Thanks for any insight or clarification! Can’t wait to try these out.
Christine — No need to warm the butter or cream cheese for the FP method; straight from the fridge is fine. I assumed we would all use these ingredients cold from the fridge where they’re kept (unless a recipe says they need to be at room temperature) but can add this detail. We’re not really cutting cold fat in like a pie dough, however. This is a fully blended dough and it’s flakier than any pie crust (where we’ve carefully not overly blended the fat!).
Okay, I’m a convert. The sliced cookie method is a total game changer and the ratio of filling to cookie is (gasp!) actually better than when I lovingly and painstakingly roll each little crescent, since I use a dry walnut-chocolate-cinnamon-sugar mix that always falls out the sides. For the dough, though, I’m loyal to Mollie Katzen’s. Same ratios but a cup of cottage cheese for the tangy dairy. Delicious.
Made two batches of these and they are THE BEST. The dough is a dream to work with. I did the classic sliced cookies and it was so much faster than rolling crescents; I will never go back. I followed the recipe for the first batch but for the second I added a little more salt to the dough, as well as very small amounts of salt to the nuts and cinnamon/sugar mixture. Thanks for such an awesome recipe!!
And a new holiday tradition has been born to our family of 6. Thank you!!!! I’ve made two batches this week (knocked the socks off of everyone who tasted it) and I am now looking into alternative fillings to experiment with. This is one of those recipes that I want to make over and over until I “understand” it and know it like the back of my hand. My family and friends are totally okay with this. :-D Thanks so much for sharing your recipe and for helping to make this traditional treat totally accessible to novice bakers like myself. xo
Thanks! You set off a rugelach binge at my house. After trying several times, I decided I like Claudia Roden’s dough recipe better ( Book of Jewish Food), but you inspired me to experiment with fillings. A very elderly friend (and New Yorker) is very doubtful about chocolate in rugelach. It turns out that rhubarb jam, thinned with brandy is a great underpinning to the cinnamon sugar and nuts. Long chilling of the dough (like 6 hours) really helps. And, I found I had a tendency to overfill them, so I worked on under filling them a bit and they turned out better — crisper. After a couple of batches, these became super-easy to make. No matter which filling I tried there were raves all around.
This post came out just in time for my friend’s cookie exchange in early December. I made the classic sliced shape with seedless raspberry jam and chopped chocolate and they were fabulous. I’ve always wanted to make rugelach but the bother of rolling them into shape kept me from it. Love this recipe and I especially love the easy peasy shapes.
Ottolenghi’s “Jerusalem” has a recipe for Israeli kranz cake that is just like your twisted rugelach flop but baked in a loaf pan instead of on a sheet pan.
Ok. I’m going in. I made the dough. It’s resting in the fridge overnight. I’m making them for NYE. FWiw, I grew up in “The Valley” in Calif and the best bakery for rugelach is Bea’s in Tarzana. OMG. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven at 15 (didn’t I?).
I’ll let you know how they came out.
Thanks for so many great recipes over the years. You’ve never failed me.
Happy New Year!
Jules
Happy New Year. Been following (and recommending) your brilliant blog for years but never commented. But, Rugelach have been a traditional part of my Christmas here in the UK for 20 years and they are very close to my heart so am coming out of the shadows!
I prefer my Rugelach to be a little less sweet so have always brushed the dough with egg wash, sprinkled on my filling of choice, laid a sheet of cling film (saran wrap) over the surface and very gently rolled over it with a rolling pin. This ensures the filling ‘beds down’ a little into the dough and compensates for the lack of ’stickiness’ in the abscence of jam.
In closing, your writing and the inclusiveness of your style has kept me happily occupied during a few too many sleepless nights. Thank you x
I was very impressed by myself for making these cookies! I’m pretty sure i won the annual neighborhood cookie exchange! I made them as pull apart rings, and they looked very impressive! Much more “hard to make” looking than they actually were. I used mini chocolate chips, apricot jam, almonds and dried wild blueberries as the filling. I had to make the dough in 3 batches (blame the small food processor) but even that worked out great! Thanks so much for the tips!
I tried both the classic and the sliced log… I have been using the organic flour at WF and I’m wondering if it’s the different gluten content? Do you notice a difference in flours and have to adjust accordingly? But they were delicious despite the dough not being easy to work with and not being as pretty as yours, and we were all impressed by the shelf life, they tasted great several days later!
Could these be any more decedent? Pining!
my bubbe used to use the same dough for all of her cookies, including rugelach, but she used CRISCO because of non dairy (for kosher reasons) and, I imagine, weird health fads that excluded butter. Thank you for this buttery cream cheesy version! She also used to add a splash of orange juice to the dough, which somehow brings out the cream cheese sourness in this version (in a good way). Also FYI I did this 1/2 whole wheat and it worked really well.
I finally got around to making these after bookmarking this recipe around Christmas.
Wow :O
I used a mix of black cheery jam, prunes, pawpaw, and cashews. A quarter of it was gone before I got to bed! I don’t know whether to thank you or curse you (thanks though really.)
This dough is the kind of magical thing that looks like an absolute yucky-sticky-i-must-have-measured-something-wrong-no-way-is-this-ever-going-to-work disaster when you mix it together, and then when you take it out of the fridge 24 hours later it rolls out like it’s nobody’s business into a super thin and wonderful sheet with not even a hint of stickiness. Gets me every time.
The rugelach look wonderful! I was wondering if these could be mailed for the holidays. Would these still taste good after a few days in a cool container? Thank you!
I absolultely think so. Just pack them well.
Breads bakery makes the best everything. two syllables: Bab ka.
or the chocolate rugelach(usually i am a cinamon sugar/raisin zealot) if you can’t justify a whole babka…
also spinach pie-ish pastries.
also everything else.
<3
I want to try these for a cookie exchange. I need to make 48. I’m just nervous as the filling doesn’t look like it is a large enough quantity to do this. What do you think?
Love, love, love rugelach! I like to make a batch of savory ones with pepper jelly and poppy seeds, they make for a great salty party snack.
I made these yesterday and they are awesome! All my friends were impressed. I panicked as I started to roll out the dough and foreswore ever rolling dough again, but after 1-2 min, it all started to work, I got the hang of it, and it was pretty easy. I just kept flouring the counter and rolling pin. It took more time than chocolate chip cookies, but the flavors and textures are so worth the slightly extra effort.
I made these, the dough was perfect, they were delicious, thank you for the simplification of the dough so easy.
Just made a double batch of this dough, SO STUPID EASY. We’re trying out 4 different flavors/ideas to see how they go. Blueberry jam, cinnamon sugar butter, pistachio chocolate chip, and a savory tomato jam and cheese one.
First batch is in the oven, we’ll see how they go!
I love the idea of savory!
As my husband announced with his mouth still full of Rugelach, “OMG, these are the real deal!” We haven’t been able to find flaky, buttery rugelach in such a long time. Our search is over and we only have to go as far as the kitchen. Thanks Deb! I picked up a trick from another cooking blog – put your baking tray with the rugelach in another baking tray, then put it in the oven. This way the preserves that leak out don’t burn. I tried this with one batch, and it was perfect. I wouldn’t want to waste any of that deliciousness.😉
I just made these. Dough was great to work with (much easier than pie crust or biscuits). Wasn’t hard with my hand mixer. I let it chill in the fridge for 2-4 hours before rolling it. I sliced the cookies, and found out after the first log to let it sit in the freezer longer than 15 minutes so it sliced better and slouched/leaked less when baking. Also, make sure to slice them with the seam side down. Use a sharp knife when slicing to avoid squishing out the filling. Also, don’t over bake (it’s a bit tough to tell when they’re browning due to the cinnamon mixture, but don’t go longer than 25 minutes). Very easy, highly recommend. I used raspberry jam, pecans and dates in my filling, but I’d love to hear if anyone has made a savory version.
Tried this today. I say “tried” because they aren’t as pretty as yours, Deb, but no one complained. In fact, they raved! This has to be part of my Christmas baking from now until the end of time. And maybe with apricot jam at Easter.
Where is the salt for the mixer if you pulse it with the flour? Can’t wait to try these they sound so fantastic
It’s in the first step:
I just love this recipe. It’s such an easy dough to work with and the rugelach always come out perfect. I use my own goat cheese (a creamy chevre) as a substitute for the cream cheese and it’s awesome.
These were perfection. IN opposition to one comment above, I would say do overtake them–nice and toasty brown, not just golden. To me, pastry (unsweetened pastry especially) is tough and uninspiring when even slightly underbred, but cozy and swoon when it’s baked through. I baked these for over 30 minutes and they were truly spectacular.
(Also: I highly recommend that you try fig-orange jam, the kind you’re supposed to use with cheese, and pine nuts and no chocolate in at least one of your logs. So good)
These were perfection. IN opposition to one comment above, I would say do overbake them–nice and toasty brown, not just golden. To me, pastry (unsweetened pastry especially) is tough and uninspiring when even slightly underbred, but cozy and swoony when it’s baked through. I baked these for over 30 minutes and they were truly spectacular.
(Also: I highly recommend that you try fig-orange jam, the kind you’re supposed to use with cheese, and pine nuts and no chocolate in at least one of your logs. So good)
These are one of my mother’s favorite cookies but I’ve always been a bit scared to try making them. They seemed complicated! This recipe is actually pretty simple and the cookies were delicious. The dough is really easy to work with. I used mini dark chocolate chips, pecans, and currants. I sliced them up and they looked very nice on our christmas cookie plates. I’ll be trying this recipe again.
I’ve made these numerous times the individual crescent roll way with dried stuff, e.g. cinnamon sugar, nuts, dried fruits. Always a success. Always gobbled up in record time.
However, today I was short on time, so i did the roll into log, and cut into shape way. Also I put jam into half the batch, mixed that with some chocolate. That half somehow didn’t bake correctly? It still seems a little soggy inside even after 10 minutes extra in the oven. Is this because of the jam? Or is it because of the way it’s formed?
This needs a VERY VERY thin layer of jam–it will look like not enough, but it adds up when it’s spiraled into so many layers. I also bake them a lot longer than suggested and let them get a deep toasty nut brown. The centers are always still a tad softer then they would be without the jam, but they taste good that way as long as the rest of the cookie is thoroughly baked.
This recipe is so amazingly easy and addictive. I only baked a quarter of it the first time I made it, and the frozen excess dough and extra filling was quite handy a week later. I managed to be in the middle of moving and still bring homemade pastry to a last minute breakfast potluck. (I did the wreath and the log, curved a bit like a candy cane…) I’ve never made rugelach before, but it will definitely be a repeat.
This came out excellent, just like I had at Jerusalem!!! Thanks!
Martha has a recipe for rugelach bar cookies, which is great and super simple, but they also seem a bit heavy. I’ll try your pull-apart version this year because it seems more traditional.
As for store-bought rugelach, I *adored* the ones they used to sell at the Flagship Macy’s Cellar back in the 80s. They were moist and flaky and so addictive. Anytime someone I knew was going to NY, I’d beg them to go to Macy’s and buy a pound or two for me. A lot of bakery rugelach these days seem to be caked with sugar for no apparent reason and are too crunchy and sweet. But maybe that’s just Baltimore.
My grandson has a nut allergy and doesn’t like chocolate. Can I make rugelach without either?
Thanks.
I love your recipes.
Deb. Deb. Deb. Thank you for making the dough so easy to make. The food processor method is a dream. These were perfection. I used black currant jam and ran them under the broiler to get them nice and brown.
I made the wreath and pull apart log. Maybe because the dough was staying quite chilled in my winter kitchen, the wreath tore a little. I patched it up and it baked up wonderfully.
Hi Deb. I made the dough for these earlier and there is no way I got it right. I used the food Processor method and the flour and cream cheese mixture was crumbly and nice but when I added in the flour the mix was anything but crumbly. It’s almost creamy. After putting it in the freezer for a while we tried to roll it out and it just crumbled and fell apart but also felt like it was super buttery. Help! Any thoughts?
I’m having a problem with the dough as well. I used the Dorrie Greenspan version of this recipe which calls for 1/2 lbs of butter and cream cheese but ONE cup of flour. Even then, the dough was dry and hard to get to stay together. I was looking at other recipes and came across this one. I can’t even imagine how this dough would turn out with another cup of flour! Eat am I missing?
Just realized I had a typo there. When I added the butter. Not when I added the flour.
I had the same problem yesterday. My cream cheese and butter were cool, but not super soft. But the results were almost like a dense coffee cake batter. It was never the crumbly or ball state it is supposed to be. I added almost another full cup of flour and chilled it for three hours. Once the dough had warmed up a bit, it was possible to work with it and the results were tasty. But the dough stage was weird. I’ve made rugelach before and not had this problem.
Dorie Greenspan’s recipe uses the same proportions as this one. (I’ve said this before but all rugelach recipes are the same, all of them. I’ve yet to see one, aside from yeasted Israeli-style ones, that uses different proportions.)
That said, while I’m not entirely sure what’s happening without seeing it, a soft, softer than most cookie doughs, dough sounds correct. It firms up in the fridge. Part of what makes rugelach so tender and flaky and rich is that there’s so much fat for so little flour. Hope that helps.
Deb – thanks. The texture this time was different than I have had in the past, but it did work after I added a bit of flour and let it sit. Maybe adding a note that anticipates people might get a super soft dough that will work in the end will assure people they didn’t mess it up? I almost threw it away and started over, but stuck with it and they were delicious.
For me, the dough texture is no different from rugelach made in a stand mixer — it’s firmer, even, since you’re not whipping up very soft butter and cream cheese. I’d definitely discourage adding more flour. Once the dough cools, a floured counter should be all you need.
Same issue, something is off here. I’ve made xream cheese doughs before with no issue. This one was creamy not crumbly and the butter never mixed in. When I watched the instagram tutorial she mixed the butter in first with the flour, then the cream cheese. I suspect this is how it should have been in the recipe.
I’m sorry the recipe gave you trouble. Can you tell me more about what happened? Did you use “regular” butter, cream cheese, and flour? In the demo, I actually did it in the wrong order because I wasn’t reading my own recipe, lol, but it works both ways. The most important thing is to make sure the first (butter or cream cheese) is well pulsed in before adding the other one.
I had trouble too. If I rolled to the dimensions in the recipe, dough was too thin, translucent thin, would tear and not roll up at all. Had to scrap it, made almond crescent cookies instead.
I recently moved to Europe from the US and have learned that many things are different here without telling you. Cream cheese here has a lot more water/moisture in it so it wont work the same in recipes. Not sure if this is the problem anyone is having but it could be so I thought it was worth mentioning.
Hi Deb! I have a question. Does your “rolling before refrigerating then freezing” technique for rolling cookie dough apply here, or will the cream cheese dough be too soft at the outset?
oh, I just asked the same thing! did you ever try it that way? i may try tomorrow…
Tried making the wreath shape but got confused by the instructions which said to divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each out. Ended up making two long logs and joining them up into a wreath, but the baking time was off. 20-25 mins was too short a time to cook the inside, which was raw dough, even though the surface was well browned. I ended up cutting the wreath into slices and baked again. They tasted delicious, but were a bit messy looking. Did I do something wrong?
We made the dough last night and one ring for breakfast today. OMG, this is yummy! It is really easy. I want to try orange marmalade, chocolate, and pecans.
I have to admit (I know these are fightin’ words) that I think rugelach isn’t worth the work for how good the cookies come out…I’ll take a perfect chocolate chip or gingersnap over rugelach any day, for half the work. But I made a double batch of these this holiday season and have now made them twice (once from the fresh dough, barely refrigerated the minimum amount of time) and once from some frozen patties of it. I think the latter came out better! For fillings I used cherry jam, peach jam, frozen blueberries cooked into a compote, and applesauce. I was afraid the applesauce would be too cloyingly sweet but it came out great, the applesauce that leaked out around the cookies carmelized and was the very best part. Anyway, I don’t know how many more times I’ll go down the rugelach path but it was a sweet treat this year. Thanks!
I had a challenging time getting the dough to roll out to a fully 12×7″ shape without it getting too thin and tearing. The dough was cold and I kept the rest in the refrig until I was ready to roll and shape. I used parchment paper to roll on it stuck to the cold counter. First time doing the roll method. I have always made crescent shapes. Will try again.
Why did my dough spread out so much? It became almost flat!
What shape did you use?
I tried the straight log with pull apart slices.
Deb! I need your expertise. I want to make traditional rugelach (like what is found in bakeries all over Israel). I found this recipe that looks amazing, but I’m challenging you to try it out and perfect it and simplify it for all of us to enjoy. It seems to be a hybrid of the cream cheese/sour cream dough and yeast dough. Also there are so many different options for fillings on the internets. What’s the difference between just butter and melted chocolate vs. adding cocoa powder or sugar, or heavy cream… the list goes on with the varieties. Here’s the link to the video (it’s in Hebrew but there’s translation)… let me know your thoughts and if you’re going to try the recipe! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRbHzrtDsMM&t=14s
Another more traditional looking recipe I found that uses babka dough. Both recipes seem pretty labor intensive. And the instructions on this one aren’t great. https://www.eater.com/2016/10/29/13371704/breads-bakery-rugelach-recipe
That’s how Breads Bakery (the owner is Israeli and has a bakery there too) makes them — and I think it’s their recipe. They’re very good, but if you’re used to cookie-like rugelach, it’s a surprise. They’re like tiny little babka buns, but very rich (and often warm throughout the day at the bakery).
Deb, this is my favourite thing I have made from your site so far. The dough came together super easily – I didn’t have a food processor, so did it with a handmixer. I also did not want to leave 25 g of butter behind (UK, so butter is sold in 250g blocks), and used that, along with 150g of cream cheese (called soft cheese here for some reason), and 250g plain flour (about 10% protein). The dough was very soft, but rolled out beautifully after a rest in the fridge overnight and on a lightly floured surface. I admit to cutting down the amount of sugar – a mere tablespoon per quarter of the dough, and did not sprinkle it with sugar either.
I am now very afraid because it was so easy to make and I love them. Not sure whether to thank you or not!! (Yes, thank you)
250g cream cheese not 150g!
Hi Deb,
I made this recipe for Hanukkah and thought it was fabulous. I followed the recipe exactly for the first batch and found it very sweet. I halved the sugar for the rest and I liked them much more.
My question is, this rugelach dough is so flaky and easy to make compared to pie dough. Could it be used for a pie?
hey Deb – if I wanted to try with a different tangy dairy product (e.g. Greek yogurt), would I keep the weight the same (8oz)? Planning to make these and use up a bunch of jams (and chocolate chips) I have hanging around!
Is the dough right has no yeast or baking powder?
I am so happy to see this recipe! I love rugelach, but have given up making it, because it is too labor intensive. I am going to use my own dough recipe, which is not made with cream cheese! I am going to use your technique…which will take so much less time. Thank you!
This year I am thinking of making a savory rugelach.
Has anyone ever tried one?
I’m thinking Brie, walnut and pear with maybe a Stilton crumble.
Is there such a thing as pear jam?
Delicious
Made it his today for a family gathering and my dear you are brilliant.
I am just making variations of these at Christmas this year.
Hi Deb,
What are your thoughts on making the dough in advance and freezing?
Love you and your blog!
Steph
Absolutely. You can also fully make the cookie dough with the fillings rolled up in a log and freeze it for a week or even months, baking it when you wish.
So delicious. I used apricot jam & bittersweet chocolate for three parts. I used pesto with sundried tomatoes for the fourth. I don’t think I’d bother with the savory again because the sweet version was sooooo delicious. Dough is so easy with the mixer. Thank you!
These were delicious. The dough is the classic rugelach dough and comes together easily. I love the different shapes! Shaping into crescents was always too much work/mess, and too large. Rolling into a log and cutting into pieces makes this a repeat recipe for me. This was the dessert everyone kept taking more of. Thank you!
I made these for the Jewish doctors I work for the celebrate Hanukkah. I actually shaped them in the traditional crescent shape. One of the doctors told me they were very close to as good as his mother’s! Could there be a better compliment? T
I was confused with your instructions for spreading the jam and am thinking there may be a typo. The recipe says: “thinly spread dough to all but the furthest 1/4 inch from you.” Don’t you mean to spread the JAM to all but the furthest 1/4 inch…? I’m going to make these tomorrow and look forward to a delicious treat that I will give for gifts or else I would eat all of the rugelach myself.
Yes, now fixed, thanks.
The rugelach were spectacular! I used apricot jelly and cranberries because that’s wha I had at home.
Perfect ending to our Hanukkah dinner on the last night! Thank you so much!
If I freeze my filled cookies, do I do the egg wash before freezing, or do I apply the egg wash to the frozen cookies before baking?
Before baking.
Does anyone have a good recipe for vanilla rugelach? Same dough or different? I haven’t seen any particularly inspiring recipes online.
This is vanilla rugelach, is it not?
There are rugelach that have vanilla filling–sorry for being unclear!
Sorry, I’m unfamiliar with vanilla filling in rugelach. I’ve only made it with jam and sometimes chocolate.
I made this with apricot+ currants+ mini semi sweet chocolate chips and it turned out amazing. My husband (usually a naysayer) ate half of them.
Hi Deb! I see ‘Divide dough into quarters and roll first quarter out’…and use 1/4 of each of all the filling ingredients and do this 4 times? So, for the classic log, you’ll have 4 rolls?
Do you think this would work with your parchment roll-out method i.e. skipping the first chilling of the dough, rolling out immediately, then chilling as a sheet (or 4 sheets)?
Yesss and no, for the parchment. It should work but this is a very sticky dough and the flour on the counter is good for it.
Hi Deb,
Would you recommend making this with cardamom rather than cinnamon for those who dislike cinnamon?
Yes, but I’d probably use less since it’s a stronger spice.
These are phenomenal. I agree with Deb, they cannot be in my house. I am a rugelach snob, as I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in Queens near the legendary Clearview Bake Shop. For years I have made the recipe from Gourmet. But this is far easier. I did the simplest version, making the dough in the food processor, using apricot jam and cutting them in slices. (I left out the chocolate.) They were fast and beyond fabulous. Don’t overcook them, and you will think you died and went to rugelach heaven.
These should be banned!! They are SO good, I am in danger of eating them all!!!😁
Oh these are so yummy! I just want to eat them all, but I have to save them for a party in a couple of days. When you bake them as separate 1” pieces, do you stand them up on the pan or lay them on a cut side? I’ve tried both and sometimes the ‘stand up’ ones slump over and/or leak out a lot of their filling. But the ‘lying down’ ones don’t brown quite as nicely. Am I doing something wrong?
FYI, I also used the same dough to make sausage rolls & they turned out great.
Thanks!
This is my husband’s favorite dessert. He is very neutral on sweets, but this – he can eat half a batch if he isn’t careful. I almost never make it, though, because I can’t seem to roll the dough tightly, and when I bake them, the individual pieces collapse more than half the time, kind of melting onto themselves :( any advice?
tia!
I have a question…my butter did not seem to disperse throughout the dough (I used food processor method on LOW) and as a result I wound up with dough that had large pieces of butter visible throughout. Made for greasier rugelach and far fewer. I’ve made this recipe before and always have the same problem to varying degree. I use the butter right out of the refrigerator but NOT FROZEN.
Thanks,
Same thing happened to me (also cold, not frozen butter). When I rolled it out, there were big chunks of butter still. I rolled the dough more times, using the concept of “lamination” I’ve seen on Great British Baking Show (roll, fold, turn over, roll, etc.) and that seemed to work. Rugelach weren’t greasy and were flakey. Next time, I’ll add my butter in diced form, like if I’m making a pie dough.
Many years late to this thread, but wanted to say that this recipe holds up!
Just got back from a Hanukkah party where these little babies made me look really good in front of my besties bubbie.
Thanks Deb!!
After you cut the log into 10/12, do you lie the cookies down flat to bake? Or bake standing up (the way they are in the log)?
Such easy dough to work with!
Stand them up, as in the log shape.
Been making these for at least the past 3 years – great recipe! I usually make the dough a day or 2 ahead and refrigerate. Then roll/fill and stick in the freezer overnight …. slice and bake! I do half with seedless raspberry jam/currants/pecans & the other half with same PLUS mini Ghirardelli chips! Great recipe and so easy to make if you break it up into smaller tasks. Huge hit with my family & friends every Chanukah:)
I’ve made these a few years in a row, usually for Hannukah. They’re always a hit! The dough is super easy to throw together, and easy to roll out on wax paper for less mess. I almost always do the log and slice from there; the crescents are super fussy and take forever. I recommend freezing for at least half an hour before slicing, but longer is better – otherwise they’re harder to cut and just slump over in the oven (although they still taste fantastic). Part of the key is a very thin layer of jam so it doesn’t all pour out. I found at least 25 mins to get some color on them, but they could even have done with 30. This year I did cherry jam w/ bittersweet chocolate (my fave combo!), raspberry jam w/ chocolate and walnuts, and apricot jam w/ toasted almonds. All were very well-received.
You should be punished for posting this recipe. As a diabetic I don’t want to lose my legs to the greatest nosh ever conceived.
Fortunately I cannot stand long enough to make it
Thanks. It sounds wonderful
One more rugelach configuration: a classic “shnecken” or snail shaped rugelah. Roll 1/4 of the dough into a circle (same thickness as your other applications). Using a knife or pizza cutter, divide the circle into 8 or 16 equal wedges (first cut across the diameter from east to west, then north to south (resulting in 4 quarters); then cut each quarter into two equal wedges (8) and then each resulting piece into 2 more equal wedges (16). Note: You could stop at 8 if you like them bigger.) Spread the filling over the entire circle. Then select a wedge and starting at the outside edge, roll it up, ending at the tip of the wedge. Transfer to baking sheet and they should bake at the same rate as your individual spiral shapes (maybe slightly longer for the larger ones).
I should add, this is what Philadelphians call schnecken (I grew up in NY; I call them rugelach). There are other variations with the same name which are yeasted. And here’s Joan Nathan’s article on the whole subject: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/food/articles/tale-of-two-treats
My 15 year old daughter has chosen to celebrate her birthday today by making rugelach! Thank you for providing this recipe for us. She plans to use seedless raspberry jam, toasted chopped walnuts and chopped chocolate chips for her batch and bacon & walnuts for her dad’s batch. She enjoys the multiple processes. I am her sous chef, buying supplies, getting dairy products to room temperature, chopping nuts and chocolate chips.
We hope that you & your family are well in these unprecedented times.
hi Deb, do you think individual rugelach could stay fresh if well-wrapped for a care package going overseas (6-7 day journey)? You’ve been such an inspiration to me, and now my college-age daughter (she’s the rugelach recipient) is also a big fan of yours! All best to you and your family, Anne
I think so! And thank you.
I have made these rugelach several times without any issues. Today I made a double batch and I had trouble getting the logs to roll up and seal. I made sure that there was at least 1/4″ without any jam but they unrolled more than I’d like. Not sure what to do.
Ugh! There goes the diet! These are my absolute favorite … but too fussy to have too often, now you’ve unfussed them!!
I noticed it said 48 Rigel in the servings but didn’t specify how many servings, I am going to assume that means one serving, all for the chef 😁. These sound delicious, can’t wait to make them.
What about dark raisins? Do you recommend only golden?
This recipe/method is the best! Quick, simple with superb results. There is no reason to bother with the old school approach to rugelach. Thanks Deb!
We love rugelach, just wondering if you think this recipe would work as is gluten free? Thanks for all the great recipes😉
Hi! I just wanted to share that while other sites say you can use curd as a filling, I found it to be a mess! I encourage you to stick to jams, nuts, etc. Curd is just too wet and leaks everywhere.
Sharing my experience with gluten free flour! Overall, Cup 4 Cup produces a nice flaky, golden crust if you’re not precious about how it looks and don’t get too frustrated with rolling out. But I’ve never met a good GF flour mix that rolls out well, personally!
(Disclaimer: I have a smaller food processor, so have to halve the recipe but don’t think that’s affected much)
Attempt 1 with King Arthur Measure for Measure: dough clumped together well, it was fairly workable when rolling but stuck to my pastry mat even with extra flour. Used a very thin spatula to help get the roll started. Generally kept shape in oven, a little falling over, but even with egg wash turned out very pale (this is an issue with this particular mix I run into with every recipe and it leads me to overbaking–I won’t be buying more of it once I get through the bag)
Attempt 2 with Cup 4 Cup: Less sticky and easier to handle overall while rolling out, though when rolling up the log it just want to fold/crack. They totally fell over while baking, but came out with a nice color and sheen, and are MUCH flakier than Attempt 1. I’ll use this flour going forward for this recipe but will likely just roll out and cut out triangles for a traditional shape–I think will be easier overall.
Hope this helps out some folks! And thanks Deb, as always, for the great recipe.
Sarah, Add an egg white or two to the dry fillings, and spread that filling thinly on the dough. Works very well to hold everything in place. For years, that’s what I did with a different (sour cream-based) dough, using the yolks for the dough and the egg whites for the cinnamon/sugar/nut/ ground chocolate filling.
On how long they last in the freezer – I made some yesterday and baked about half. I rolled out the other half and froze. Would they be okay in the freezer until Christmas (about 2 weeks away) or is that too long? Thanks! (Originally posted this as a comment to another user by accident😬$
Absolutely. They’ll be fine much longer.
Hi Deb,
What are your thoughts on freezing rugelach once baked? Would it be okay?
Absolutely
My daughter (12) is in a weekly baking competition this holiday season hosted by our local recreation department (since they can’t do any sports due to Covid). She’s a great baker. The recipes the contestants bake are of course judged just on photographs and are not tasted by the judges (due to Covid). She’s looking for ways to make hers stand out, visually. I’m planning to show her the wreath idea when she gets home from school! Let me know if you’ve thought of any new shapes/presentations. She was thinking about something that would lend color (not artificial color), but worried “it” (whatever it was) would fundamentally alter the dough. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Choc chips, hazel nuts and sweetened condensed milk in for the jam. You will not be sorry.
I don’t know what happened but my Rugelach failed completely. They melted in the oven into jammy buttery puddles. The only thing I can think of is that I accidentally counted 1.5 cups of flour instead of 2 (I used a 1/2 cup to measure because the 1 cup was dirty. That’ll teach me to be lazy.) I will definitely still eat them because they’re delicious jammy buttery puddles but they’re the ugliest cookies I’ve ever made. lol
Hey thanks for the recipe. I had to laugh out loud while reading your explanation. I appreciate the giggles. I rarely bake anything that I really-really like anymore because I’m reminded of the old magazine ad with the girl and the cinnamon rolls growing from the sides of her thighs (I am riding the elliptical machine right now ha ha). Make it, eat it, wear it – Ahhh. This recipe sounds worth it. Can’t wait to try it.
Hi. So so so happy with this recipe. They came out terrific!
Thoughts or experience with freezing them or how long and best way to store at room temp?
The filling in mine leaked like CRAZY and set off every smoke alarm in our house, while the middle of the cookie stayed almost underdone. I used the traditional crescent shape and the rolled and cut shape. The rolled and cut shape almost entirely opened and those lost all filling. The dough, however, is incredible. I will have to figure out a better shaping method. The bits that don’t have the spilled, burnt filling are so, so good.
Dough was super easy to make and absolutely delicious. My son and I made it with the kitchen aid mixer. We used strawberry jam for two batches and chocolate for the other two. Definitely spread the dough and filling thin. When you roll it up, we kept it in the freezer for 20 minutes before we cut them. They turned out perfect!!! Thank you!!!
I just made the dough in my food processor, but it never clumped. It was extremely soft, and I had to scrape it out onto the plastic wrap. This is the first time that this has happened to me. I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer, but I’m pretty sure it is going to prove to be a major problem when it comes to rolling them out. All the ingredients were room temperature, and I triple checked the recipe, even though it was very simple. Has anyone else had this issue?
I just made the dough in my food processor, but it never clumped. It was extremely soft, and I had to scrape it out onto the plastic wrap. This is the first time that this has happened to me. I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer, but I’m pretty sure it is going to prove to be a major problem when it comes to rolling them out. All the ingredients were room temperature, and I triple checked the recipe, even though it was very simple. Has anyone else had this issue?
If the ingredients are room temperature, the mixture won’t clump because it’s soft. The clumping is from cold ingredients, which take more pulsing to come together. Once it’s cold, it should be just fine — I can almost guarantee it!
(Shared in a reply but wanted to share it so folks who are curious don’t miss it!)
Sharing my experience with gluten free flour! Overall, Cup 4 Cup produces a nice flaky, golden crust if you’re not precious about how it looks and don’t get too frustrated with rolling out. But I’ve never met a good GF flour mix that rolls out well, personally!
(Disclaimer: I have a smaller food processor, so have to halve the recipe but don’t think that’s affected much)
Attempt 1 with King Arthur Measure for Measure: dough clumped together well, it was fairly workable when rolling but stuck to my pastry mat even with extra flour. Used a very thin spatula to help get the roll started. Generally kept shape in oven, a little falling over, but even with egg wash turned out very pale (this is an issue with this particular mix I run into with every recipe and it leads me to overbaking–I won’t be buying more of it once I get through the bag)
Attempt 2 with Cup 4 Cup: Less sticky and easier to handle overall while rolling out, though when rolling up the log it just want to fold/crack. They totally fell over while baking, but came out with a nice color and sheen, and are MUCH flakier than Attempt 1. I’ll use this flour going forward for this recipe but will likely just roll out and cut out triangles for a traditional shape–I think will be easier overall.
Hope this helps out some folks! And thanks Deb, as always, for the great recipe.
I made these yesterday and they’re fabulous (date/pecan with apricot jam, pistachio/chocolate chip with raspberry jam)!
To help with the dough since I can never get it even, I divided it in two halves and rolled each in a gallon ziplock bag (a la espresso shortbread). I chilled the bags in the fridge for 30 minutes, then sliced two sides to free the dough. Cut in half down the center (parallel to the zip top of the bag), spread jam, toppings, and rolled each half into a log (ended with 4 logs). It worked SO WELL! 🙂
Thank you thank you thank you for such a simple approach to this long-time favorite. The pastry is amazingly flaky and tender and this will now be my go-to (sorry, Ina!)
That said, I think 1 1/2 *tablespoons* of cinnamon is too much. I reduced it to 1 1/2 teaspoons and it’s still a bit overpowering. Will adjust in future
OMG, I didn’t realize how much I missed being able to get these at the bakery until I stumbled on this recipe using “Surprise Me,” which is a feature I love. They came out really well, following the food processor instructions. I chilled the dough overnight before rolling. I made some with just chopped toasted nuts/cinnamon sugar (trying to replicate my favorite rugelach from Rein’s deli) and some that were “loaded” with bittersweet chocolate, sour cherries, nuts and jam, and both kinds are just great. This is my most successful Smitten Kitchen recipe so far. So good! Better than Rein’s!
I can’t remember if I already commented but want to add my voice to the chorus of those who made this recipe with success. I made it 3 times, the first time using a food processor for the dough. The food processor yielded the BEST texture of the dough for me. While raw, it was so creamy and I admit that I thought I had done something wrong. Some of the butter didn’t mix, and my food processor was small so I poked at it a little and pulsed some more. I plopped the dough onto some plastic wrap, divided, flattened, and refrigerated overnight. OVERNIGHT IS KEY. The next day, the dough was totally normal to work with, same as the stand mixer dough, but despite using the exact same recipe and baking time, this pastry was so much more tender and lovely.
You MUST work quickly when rolling it out – it took me a while to get the hang of it, but honestly, even with tears and holes as I rolled, the taste and texture was phenomenal that picture-perfect-ness did not matter to me (they actually looked gorgeous anyway – a bit flat but I love a dense bit of delicious goodness and preferred it this way). This is a forever recipe. My favorite mix-ins were dried sour cherry (MUST be “sour” or “tart” cherries and not just dried cherries), cherry preserves, and a mix of brown/white sugar and a dash of cardamom (this I got from Melissa Clark). Drooling thinking about this. I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you so much for sharing it!!
Made the rugelach and it is the most glorious tasting delicacy ever. However, in my version, it turned out to be the ugliest I’ve made anything in a long time–not your fault or that of the recipe. The dough was too sticky and wouldn’t hold together. Not sure what I did wrong–but it was a pure delight following your recipe. Thank you so much. Gave a whole new meaning to ‘unfussy’ – barb.
Hello,
Thanks for recipe
I have a question about Rugelach, does this traditional pastry have yeast or cream cheese?
I’ve seen traditional version with both. I suspect they were yeasted long before they had cream cheese.
I have made this recipe SO many times and it is an absolute delight! Making this for my Tatu + Mamika who are in town – comes out perfect every time. A trick to making the edges and centers of the rolls similarly sized – start rolling up the rectangle of dough on the sides and move toward the center. The logs come out less tapered on the ends.
That said, I have about 107 grams of pastry left and was thinking about making a teeny tiny galette with it. Deb, do you think this dough might work similarly to your any-kind-of-fruit galette?
I suspect it won’t hold crimps well but please report back and let me know. I absolutely love this dough and like to use it for as much as possible.
Had to comment. My dad is a TOUGH customer. Is moderately happy with anything freshly baked, but to really get a seal of approval is … a challenge. This recipe did it. He said it was the best rugalach he has ever had (and he has had many), was very complimentary about the dough, and told me to “write down the recipe” (crying laughing emoji :/). My only modifications from this recipe as posted were that I refrigerated it in 4 parts, and shaped it into rectangles before refrigerating to make rolling into a rectangle easier. He likes them over-stuffed and did not want chocolate or nuts, so he had raisins, dried cherries, and dried apricot bits. He is in heaven. And so am I, having nailed father’s day :) Thank you Deb!
Question–I’ve made these before and loved them. I need to use a tub of marscapone left from the ciambellone I made last week. Could I use it in this recipe?
I think so! It can be a little softer but should otherwise work.
If I want to use Quark instead of Cream Cheese, do I just use the same quantity by weight and keep everything else the same? Here in Germany, firm Cream Cheese is hard to find, while Quark is ubiquitous…
I have been making Rugelach for over 30 years. I upped my game 10 years ago with a stand mixer. I was looking forward to using the food processor as it is easier to move. Sadly it was a total fail. The cream cheese mixed in the flour very well but the butter just gummed up the works. The low set blade was not able to mix in the butter. My new food processor did not do the job the old stand mixer did with ease. Back to the old stand by.
I agree with the other comments that 20-25 minutes seemed underbaked, and I baked mine in a convection oven at 350F. I know it sounds like a long time, but the pastry really does better if you cook it till it’s got a nice caramelization.
Also DO NOT try to overfill these; I thought the layers seemed thin and was a bit generous and ended up with a mess of caramel from the jam running and the sugar turning into caramel.
We also ran out of the raspberry, cranberry, pecan, chocolate filling and switched to blueberry with candied ginger and that was good too! Next time I run out of filling though, I might just do chocolate and pecans with the cinnamon sugar. You can definitely cut back on the sugar though.
These are amazing! That dough is magical to work with and such a wonderful texture. I used raspberry jam with finely chopped almonds this time. I’m already thinking of what else to fill my next batch with. Thank you!
I am now gluten-free. Can I substitute gluten- free all purpose flour in the wonderful rugalach recipe? What type (rice, etc ) I do miss rugalach and want to make it.
Please help! I just made these, and they turned out pretty good BUT the dough was SOOO sticky and hard to work with, and I don’t know what I did wrong. I used the food processor and put the dough in the fridge for 48 hours. It all seemed fine until I tried to roll it — it stuck like heck to the rolling pin, to the silicon mat I use for rolling dough, and to everything else. I finally managed to shape it, but even after freezing the log for 30-40 minutes, the dough didn’t really hold its shape in the oven and the butter just melted out of the roll. Then I read all these comments about how easy it is to work with this dough. What happened?
I had the same problem! Curious to figure out what I did wrong.
I love your recipes, thank you. I made your rugelach with Fruit Mince instead of jam. Blended the mince with juice from half a lemon (for spreadability) and my favourite rugelach by far for Christmas. My DH and Grandson ate them all b4 Christmas, so making them again. If you’re in Aus, NZ Barkers Fruit Mince blends beautifully and tastes amazing in rugelach.
First attempt by a shiksha (who grew up around the corner from Temple Beth Israel in Chicago). The dough comes together almost instantly. Rolling the first one seemed very fussy. The texture of my dough was either too soft or too firm. But after the first one – honestly – I can say it really was easy, not fussy and so delicious. My family who had never experienced rugulah before loved them too! Thank you!
Can these be made ahead and frozen before baking? Either the dough or the completed, unbaked rugelach.
Missed the freezing instructions first read-through. Got my answer!
Oh goodness. I thought these were going to be a disaster because I couldn’t get the dough to crimp, but they are perfect. I used cherry jam, chopped dried cherries, bittersweet chocolate, and toasted almonds. Unreal. I also used sparkling sugar on top (rather than cinnamon sugar) to make them extra festive. Hooray!
So I had a LOT of leakage… is this because I used jelly rather than jam, maybe? I tried the sliced cookie version, as opposed to the wreath or tear away.
These look so delicious! Deb, you’ve just about convinced me to set aside my mother’s 60+ year old mimeographed “ruggala” recipe that I’ve laminated and cherished for so many years to try your new recipe! Way easier, and it’s not a 2 day affair, and they look amazing! I feel that this might be the year to start my own new family tradition! Thank you, and BTW, thanks for your wonderful, beautiful new book with your amazing photos!
I made rugelach yesterday! I use the recipe from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. The dough Is made with butter, flour, cottage cheese and salt. It’s amazing! I roll out the logs, too. I don’t have patience for the crescents. Peace and Love!
Cannot stress enough how good these are. Dough came together with borderline terrifying speed with the food processor method and behaved nicely after an overnight rest in the fridge. I used a full cup of apricot jam because mine was just THAT thick, a bit less cinnamon sugar, and a 50-50 mix of walnuts and blackcurrants. Had the best luck baking them with cut sides facing down and gently nudging them back into shape with a spoon after they inevitably unfurled a bit. Absolutely going in the keeps file!
Hey Deb –
I decided to try and make rugelach for the first time, and looked at about a half dozen different recipes. I settled on yours based on the positive reviews, and your approach to the rolled up logs as opposed to the crescent shapes. I never worked with dough EVER. I bake on a weekly basis, but typically it’s cookies, cakes, blondies, etc. NEVER dough. However, being someone who grew up in New York with easy access to fresh rugelach at the corner bakery, I missed them since I now live in Dallas and there really aren’t any options.
So, I followed your recipe and made the dough the night before. I was actually baking for a large team of nurses who work for my daughter, and I make holiday treats every year for them at this time. So, I made three batches of the dough…yes, enough for 12 logs.
The next morning I started the prep and the first log was a disaster…dough was sticky and didn’t cooperate. I did get it in the oven and was able to salvage some pieces. As the day continued, I got a bit more comfortable, and by the end was able to produce about 100 rugelach from 12 logs. My daughter brought them to work and the reviews were great. They weren’t lookers, but the taste was spot on.
My biggest challenges are threefold… 1. How do you roll the dough to get that perfect 12×8 rectangle that is evenly distributed? 2. Why did so many of the rugelach ooze while baking and some even tipped to the side? I only spread a thin layer of apricot preserves AND I froze each log for 30 minutes prior to slicing and baking, yet there was still a decent amount of ooze. 3. How do I get 12 pieces out of each log? The end of each log were deflated and essentially dough and preserves.
Thanks.
Your recipe looked great and I can’t wait to bake it. I love to bake all kinds of recipes and have created many myself. Your recipe unlike many others will not need a changes I can tell by looking at it. Thank you.
Do you think I could use a hand blender instead of a food processor? I have a mixer but I’m extremely lazy.
Excited to add some cultural diversity to my office’s Holiday Cookie Exchange :)
Yes, but it’s a little more work!
One of my kids is allergic to eggs, so I’m excited to see a mostly egg-free cookie recipe! What would you recommend I use in place of the egg wash? Plain milk or cream maybe?
Can you use packaged pie dough or puff pastry instead of making the dough from scratch?
Both are a little different from what this dough creates, so I wouldn’t recommend it. It could still make something delicious, however, just not this.
Has anyone tried this with a 1:1 gluten free flour? This has been my go-to rugelach recipe for years but my husband was recently diagnosed with celiac :(
Here is one comment: https://smittenkitchen.com/2015/12/unfussy-rugelach/#comment-1817103
Thank you!
Hi! I made these last night, and they are so delicious! I had some trouble with about 50% not holding their shape while baking. They’re not as pretty, but still yummy! I’m trying to think why this happens? I’ve made rugelach many times, not this recipe and not just at Christmas. This always happens to some of them. I’m wondering if it’s because I could see large chunks of butter in the dough while I was rolling it out, which made the dough kind of dry, hard to roll out. Next time( and there will be a next time) do I pulse the dough a little longer? I’m always afraid to over pulse! Happy holidays to all following the Smitten Kitchen!
What shape are you using? How is it not holding — opening? or flattening out? Sometimes not holding their shape is just about being a little overstuffed.
I am allergic to walnuts, pecans, macadamia and pine nuts. Can eat peanuts, pistachios, cashews. Which nut would you suggest for rugelach?
Pistachios or cashews!
I guess you must use ALL the dough (not one-fourth of it as directed?) to make the spirals or the wreath….
I make these every year for Christmas and look forward to them. However, my jam always leaks out and there is a pool of crystalized jam at the bottom of each round. Any tips or hints? Thanks.
I talk about leaking in the intro. :)
I made these for the holidays. They were easy and delicious. My DIL said they are her new favorite cookie! Thank you.
This question is not just relevant to this recipe.It’s about the conversion of cups of flour to grams. Your recipes call for 260 grams for 2 cups; King Albert 240 and Nancy Silverton’s recipes 280. The standard online conversion charts say 1cup is 120 grams.
I did make my first ever batch using your recipe and it turned out fine; I am trying Nancy’s and the dough was drier -haven’t rolled it out yet but I can see it will crack.
I’d appreciate your insights on this. Thx
My cups of flour weigh in at about 130 grams, sometimes up to 135 grams. Unfortunately, there is little agreement between publishers (ranges of 120 to 150 grams per cup).