How To Make Rugelach Cookies

The word Rugelach is Yiddish, the Jewish language of eastern Europe. Rugelach is a Jewish croissant-shaped pastry with fruit and nut fillings. The important thing you need to know is that these cookies are delicious!

A few years ago, a neighbor of ours brought us a tray of homemade cookies. These Rugelach cookies were one of the little cookies on that tray. They were delicious little bites of nutty goodness, and yesterday, I decided to make some myself.

After searching for awhile, writing down different recipe ingredients, and picking and choosing, the recipe below was the result. The dough needs to be refrigerated for two hours, so, you have some downtime but the cookies are easy to make. It’s a pretty easy recipe to make your own.

This recipe makes 36 little cookies.

Rugelach Cookies

Dough

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar for dusting

Filling

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup raw sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup ground walnuts
3 Tblsp. butter – room temperature

To Make The Dough:

Allow the butter and cream cheese to come to room temperature. It is much easier to cream at room temperature. Place the 2 sticks of butter, (not margarine!) and the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon, cream together until smooth.

Add the sugar and vanilla. Mix well.

Add 1 – 1/4 cups of the flour and the salt. Mix until it starts to come together. Then, add the remaining 1 cup of flour and mix until blended.

Cut the dough into 3 relatively, equal pieces and place on generous sheets of wax paper. Fold one side of the wax paper over the top and flatten into a disk. Fold the edges of the wax paper on the remaining three sides and place flat in the refrigerator.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (You can leave these in the refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days.)

Combine the sugars and the cinnamon in a small mixing bowl. Stir in the melted butter.

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Roll the dough sandwiched between the wax paper out into a 9 or 10 – inch circle about 1/8″ thick. You may want to dust the wax paper with powdered sugar if the dough begins to stick. If the wax paper begins to tear, just pull off a new piece and replace it. (I like using the wax paper. It keeps you from having to add extra flour to the dough and keeps the pastry lighter.)

How To Make Rugelach Cookies on MyHumbleHomeandGarden.com

Spread 1/3 of the butter-sugar mixture over the top of the circle of dough. Sprinkle 1/3 of the ground nuts on top of the butter-sugar mixture. Press the ground nuts gently into the filling and the dough.

Using a pizza wheel, or a sharp knife, cut the circle into quarters. Then cut each quarter into 3 sections. This will make 12 equal triangles.

Roll each triangle from the widest end to the point into a crescent shape, like a croissant.

Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet or on a Silpat non-stick baking liner

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Chill on the baking sheet for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

Remove from the refrigerator and bake in the preheated 375° oven for 15 – 20 minutes.

Cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes and then, place on a baking rack to completely cool. (The kids were here and several of these did not get a chance to cool! They are delicious warm!)

My cookies didn’t have a perfect crescent shape. I will have to work on that. However, it did not have any ill effect on the taste, thankfully!

So, why did I wait all these years to make these little jewels? I don’t know! They are pretty simple and judging from the family’s reaction, we will be having more of these soon. You must try these tasty little morsels soon! With the holidays coming up, it is perfect timing.

How To Make Rugelach Cookies