Classic Rugelach
If you haven’t had classic rugelach before, you’re missing out. It is a traditional Jewish dessert, and it is basically a combination of rich, crumbly cookie/pastry filled with nuts, spices, and dried fruits. They are so incredibly delicious and incredibly well balanced.
They also make for a great holiday cookie, if you’re looking for a new recipe to try out to signify the end of the year!
The process isn’t too difficult. You basically just chuck all of your ingredients for the dough into a food processor and pulse for a little bit until the dough comes together. Then, you divide it in two and wrap the disks in plastic wrap.
You chill for anywhere between a few hours and a week, and you can even freeze it. Although, if you do freeze it put it in the fridge the day before you need it so that you’re not working with rock hard dough.
Then when you’re ready, you pulse up the filling. You roll out the disks one at a time until they’re slightly thinner (don’t worry if its crumbly), brush each with some plain water, and spread over about half the crumbly filling. You cut the whole situation like a pizza, and roll it like a croissant. You start from the base of each triangular shape, or the “crust” of each “pizza slice”.
Then, you bake them and shower in powdered sugar!
Honestly, these cookies are just absolutely delicious. The dough is buttery, flaky, and crumbly in all the best ways. It’s slightly tangy from the cream cheese and sour cream, which adds to the balance. Then, the filling is delicious, a combination of nuts, dried fruits, and spices. Everything works together beautifully.
It’s also customizable in terms of ingredients, which I describe below. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Dough:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick, cold)
- 3 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 3 tbsp sour cream, cold (40 g)
Filling:
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 1/2 cup almonds, walnuts, or pecans
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- water (to brush the dough)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar (for dusting)
Instructions:
Dough:
- In a food processor, add the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse for a few seconds until it’s all combined.
- Cut the butter and cream cheese into small teaspoon sized pieces. Add to the food processor, trying not to touch them as much as possible to keep them cold. Add in the sour cream as well.
- Pulse everything in the food processor for about 30 seconds. To test for consistency, the dough should stick together when you press it in between your fingers.
- Divide the dough into two, and shape into roughly circular shapes. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Don’t worry if the dough is falling apart and crumbling, this will all add to the texture at the end.
Filling:
- In a food processor, add your ingredients: brown sugar, almonds, dried cranberries, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend until the pieces are fairly small, and the filling feels slightly moist.
Assembly:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Start with one dough disk at a time. Sprinkle some extra flour on your work space, then use a rolling pin to roll our your dough circle until it’s roughly 1/4 inch thick. It can be slightly thicker.
- Brush the dough with a little bit of water, then spoon on about half the filling. Spread it out, then press it in gently. Cut the dough into 8 slices, like a pizza.
- Roll each piece from the base of the triangle inwards, like a croissant. Think of it as rolling from the crust of the pizza towards the tip.
- Place each cookie on a parchment lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Repeat with the second disk.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until they are golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar, and enjoy!
Classic Rugelach
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup butter one stick, cold
- 3 oz cream cheese cold
- 3 tbsp sour cream 40 g, cold
Filling
- 1/3 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 1/2 cup almonds, walnuts, or pecans
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins
- 1/2 tbsp cinammon
- pinch salt
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- water for brushing
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Dough
- In a food processor, add the flour, salt and sugar.
- Pulse for a few seconds to combine.
- Cut the cold butter and cream cheese into small pieces, then add them to the food processor along with the sour cream.
- Pulse for about 30 seconds until the dough starts to come together.
- Divide into two and shape into disks. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Filling
- In a food processor, add the brown sugar, nuts, dried fruit, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
- Pulse for about 30 seconds, until there are small pieces that resemble a somewhat moist but still crumbly filling.
Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Work with one dough disk at a time. Sprinkle some flour on your workspace, then roll out the dough circle until it is about 1/4" thick.
- Brush the dough with a little bit of water, then sprinkle on half of the filling. Spread it out and press it in gently.
- Cut the dough into 8 slices, like a pizza. Roll each slice like a croissant, starting from the base of the triangle.
- Place each croissant-shaped cookie onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Repeat the whole process with the other dough disk and the rest of the filling.
- Bake the cookies for 25 minutes until golden brown. Then, dust with powdered sugar, and enjoy!
Notes
- Macros: 10.1 g fat, 12.8 g carbohydrates, and 2.2 g protein
- See the blog post above for a more detailed description, tips, and suggestions for customization in terms of filling.