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Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
updated Dec 1, 2023
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This decadent cookie starts with a cream cheese-based dough and whatever filling you can dream up. Honey-walnut or chocolate are good places to start!
Makes64 cookiesPrep45 minutesCook1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutesreviews
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There is no resisting rugelach, no matter how nubbly or imperfectly rolled. They’re buttery, flaky, and just the right amount of sweet. You can fill them with anything from ground nuts and honey to peanut butter and chocolate — the only real constant is using cream cheese to make a super-tender dough. Here’s how you can make them at home.
Quick Overview
Tips on Making Rugelach Cookies
- Use a food processor to make rugelach dough so it comes out more tender.
- Add egg yolk to the dough for extra richness.
- Roll rugelach individually into crescents for a more satisfying bite and pleasing appearance.
- Let your imagination go wild with creative rugelach fillings.
Equipment to Use to Make Rugelach Dough
I am a student of the Dorie Greenspan School of Rugelach. This means that I make my rugelach dough in a food processor rather than with a mixer or by hand. This makes an incredibly tender dough where the cream cheese and butter are cut into the flour rather than absorbed by it. If you don’t have a food processor, though, no worries — take a look at the instructions for making rugelach by hand at the end of the recipe.
I like adding an egg yolk to my dough. It’s not strictly necessary, but I like it for the extra richness and a guaranteed golden color in the oven. These are, after all, celebration cookies, so now is not the time to shy away from a decadent cookie.
Also as part of the Dorie Greenspan School, I prefer rugelach rolled individually into crescents rather than rolling the dough around the filling and then slicing them into pinwheels. This technique is a bit more labor-intensive, but I find the crescent shape to have a more satisfying bite and pleasing appearance.
How to Make Rugelach
- Make the dough. Blitz cold cream cheese, butter, flour, salt, egg yolk, and vanilla extract together into a soft dough.
- Chill the dough. Form the dough into 4 disks, wrap each one in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm.
- Roll out the dough and fill. Roll out each disk into a 1/8-inch thick round, then top with the filling.
- Cut into triangles. Cut the dough into triangles like a pizza.
- Roll up the rugelach. Starting at the wider end of each triangle, roll up to the point to get a crescent shape. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Bake the rugelach. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. The filling gets molten and hot, so let cool before eating.
Fillings for Rugelach
I love making several different fillings for the rugelach and using a different one with each batch. Here are my favorites:
- Honey-walnut: classic
- Chocolate
- Jam: If I have a really good summer jam in the cupboard, I’ll fill a batch with a few spoonfuls straight from the jar..
I’ve seen rugelach made with an amazing array of fillings, so you can really let your imagination go wild.
How To Make Rugelach Recipe
This decadent cookie starts with a cream cheese-based dough and whatever filling you can dream up. Honey-walnut or chocolate are good places to start!
Prep time 45 minutes
Cook time 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes
Makes 64 cookies
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 2 cups
all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 8 ounces
cold cream cheese
- 2 sticks
(1 cup) cold unsalted butter
- 1
large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
- 1 batch
filling (see ideas below)
Powdered sugar
Equipment
Food processor
Rolling pin
Pizza cutter or sharp knife
- 2
baking sheets
Parchment or silicone baking mats
Instructions
Show Images
Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Place 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse several times to combine.
Mix in the cream cheese and butter. Cut 8 ounces cold cream cheese and 2 sticks cold unsalted butter into 3/4-inch cubes. Scatter over the flour and pulse until coarse crumbs form, 10 to 12 (1-second) pulses.
Mix in the yolk and vanilla. Place 1 large egg yolk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle over the butter-flour mixture. Process until the dough starts to clump together and form large, curd-like pieces.
Refrigerate the dough. Transfer the dough onto a work surface and gather the pieces into a ball. Divide into 4 portions and flatten each into 1-inch-thick disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months (thaw in the refrigerator before using).
When ready to bake the rugelach, heat the oven to 375°F. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Meanwhile, prepare the filling (ideas below).
Roll out the dough. Sprinkle a work surface generously with powdered sugar. Take 1 disk of dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for 1 to 2 minutes to warm up slightly. Unwrap and then sprinkle the surface of the dough and the rolling pin with more powdered sugar. Roll the dough from the center out into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Don't worry if a few cracks form near the edges. Use more powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking.
Spread with filling. Spread the filling in a thin layer evenly over the surface of the dough. Make sure it goes right up to the edge of the dough.
Cut and roll the cookies. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 wedges, like a pizza. Beginning at the wide outer edge and moving towards the center, roll up each wedge. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Make sure the tip is tucked underneath.
Refrigerate the cookies for 20 minutes. Refrigerate the cookies on the baking sheet for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, fill and roll a second disk of dough, filling up the second baking sheet.
Bake the cookies 20 to 25 minutes. Bake the first tray of cookies until golden-brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Bake the second tray of cookies. While the second tray is baking, prepare the third disk of dough, using the same parchment paper from the first batch but making sure the baking sheet is cooled.
Recipe Notes
Freezing rugelach: The disks of dough can be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using. The shaped cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet, making sure they do not touch, and freeze until solid. Transfer to a freezer container for long-term storage. The cookies can be baked straight from the freezer and may need an extra few minutes to bake.
Making rugelach by hand: If you don't have a food processor, just cut the cream cheese and the butter into the flour mixture using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, just as you would for pie crust. Sprinkle the yolk mixture over the top and fluff the dough with your fingers until it feels heavy and can hold together when pressed into a ball. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as instructed.
Halving this recipe: Skip the egg yolk and cut the rest of the ingredients in half.
Storage: The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 1 week.
Ideas for Rugelach Fillings
- Nut filling: In a food processor, pulse 1 cup walnuts and 1 cup pecans until they break into tiny crumbs, 30 to 40 pulses. (Be careful of over-processing and making nut butter.) Combine the ground nuts in a bowl with 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) melted butter, 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Fruit and jam filling: Warm 1/4 cup marmalade, apricot jam, or raspberry jam in the microwave until it liquefies. Stir in 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside to cool until no longer steaming, still liquidy. Pulse 2 cups (roughly 10 ounces) dried fruit, such as apricots, cranberries, cherries, or currants, in a food processor until it breaks down into tiny pieces. To assemble, spread the jam onto the rugelach dough and then sprinkle the dried fruit on top.
- Peanut butter and chocolate filling: Warm 1/2 cup peanut butter in a microwave until it liquefies but isn't boiling. Spread over the rugelach dough; sprinkle with 1 cup miniature chocolate chips.
