Rugelach are classic Jewish pastries. Crescent cookies with flaky cream cheese dough filled with dried fruit, walnuts, and chocolate chips.
These buttery crescent pastries will be at home with Butter Cookies, Shortbread Cookies, and all your other favorite recipes for melt-in-your-mouth Cookies during the holidays.
Sabrina’s Rugelach Recipe
Rugelach are a well-loved, classic Jewish pastry that you don’t have to wait for the High Holidays (or be Jewish) to enjoy. A traditional recipe starts with a cream cheese dough, and is stuffed with sweet fillings. Flaky sugary cookie outside with sweet chocolate and cinnamon, slightly tart fruit, and crunchy walnuts. They are perfect all on their own, but you could always top them with a drizzle of Chocolate Ganache.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter , frozen and cut into chunks
- 8 ounces cream cheese , frozen and cut into chunks
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup walnuts , chopped
- 1/4 cup dried apricots , finely chopped
- 1/4 cup raisins , coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
To Finish:
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1/4 cup coarse sanding sugar
Instructions
- To a large food processor add the flour and salt.
- Pulse and through the chute add the butter and cream cheese in small batches while pulsing.
- Once the butter and cream cheese is combined and the mixture is crumbly, add in the sour cream and pulse until a wet dough begins to form.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and cut into four equal portions.
- Pat into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- To a floured surface roll each disk into a 9" circle (about as big as a cheesecake spring-form pan).
- Using a pizza cutter or a large knife cut each circle into 12 wedges (like you’re slicing a cake or pizza).
- In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon and stir well.
- Add ¼ of the mixture over the sliced disk, then sprinkle with walnuts.
- Either add some apricots and raisins with the walnuts, or add chocolate chips (easy way to get two flavors of cookies!).
- Roll each wedge like a crescent roll, from the widest edge inward to the thinnest side.
- Carefully lift and place onto baking sheet with parchment paper 1″ apart from each other.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove cookies from refrigerator.
- Mix egg and water to make egg wash.
- Brush over the cookies then sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the cookies have just begun to brown.
- Cool 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.
Nutrition
Serving: 2 Cookies | Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 62mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 454IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg
