Rugelach Recipe: How to Make Apricot-Walnut Rugelach
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Dec 14, 2023 • 3 min read
Sweet, crisp rugelach cookies carry a wonder of flavor in their layers. Learn to make this classic treat at home.
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What Is Rugelach?
Rugelach is a European and American Jewish cookie containing either chocolate or fruit fillings rolled up in an irresistibly flaky dough. Unlike pie dough recipes, which feature butter or shortening, rugelach gets its flakiness from a cream cheese dough that is tender and sweet with just a mild tang. Like a French croissant, rugelach dough traditionally gets sliced into triangles, then rolled up and hand-formed into crescent shapes.
While rugelach are a traditional Hanukkah dessert, they’re popular year-round at Jewish bakeries and are an ideal accompaniment to a fresh cup of coffee or tea.
3 Tips for Making Rugelach
Homemade rugelach is worth the effort. Here are a few tips for making delicious cookies with a malleable, smooth dough.
- 1. Pay attention to the temperature of all the ingredients. Cold cream cheese won’t blend smoothly with butter. For lump-free dough, use room-temperature cream cheese and butter. This recipe comes out best when you make the rugelach dough ahead of time, so it has time to chill before baking (if not, it’ll be too sticky to handle). And, if you’re making homemade fruit filling, cool it before spreading it on the cookie dough. Otherwise, the cream cheese and butter in the dough will melt and become trickier to handle.
- 2. Use the right amount of jam. Follow a less-is-more approach when adding jam to this recipe: Overfilling the dough will make it difficult to wrap the cookies neatly. A few tablespoons of filling for each disc of rugelach dough is all you need.
- 3. Personalize the fillings. Apricot jam or raspberry jam are typical in rugelach, as are chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans. You could easily switch in orange marmalade and hazelnuts or any combination of preserves, nuts, and dried fruits. Add a slather of chocolate hazelnut butter or a sprinkling of miniature chocolate chips for a chocolatey twist. To keep it simple, combine cinnamon and brown sugar to make cinnamon rugelach.
Apricot-Walnut Rugelach Recipe
makes
48 cookiesprep time
1 hrtotal time
1 hr 20 mincook time
20 minIngredients
For the dough:
For the filling and assembly:
Note: The total time does not include 2 hours and 45 minutes of inactive time.
Make the dough:
- 1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or the bowl of a food processor, beat or process the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract until silky-smooth.
- 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- 3
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated.
- 4
Turn out the rugelach dough from the mixing bowl onto your work surface.
- 5
Divide the dough into four pieces (this makes it easier to roll out later).
- 6
Roll each piece into a ball, and flatten each ball into discs. Wrap the 4 discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 2 hours.
Make the filling and assemble the cookies:
- 1
Remove the dough discs from the refrigerator, and let them come to room temperature.
- 2
Line 4 9x13-inch baking sheets or cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- 3
In a medium bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, and currants and set it aside.
- 4
Unwrap the first dough disc, and place it on a floured surface.
- 5
Use a rolling pin to roll the disc out into an ⅛-inch-thick circle.
- 6
Add 2 tablespoons of jam to the center of the dough, and use an offset spatula or back of a spoon to spread it evenly across the dough.
- 7
Sprinkle a ¼ of the fruit and nut filling on top of the dough, distributing it evenly.
- 8
Using a pizza cutter, bench scraper, or sharp knife, cut the circle into 12 triangular, relatively equal wedges.
- 9
Starting from the wide part of each triangle, roll each wedge down toward the tip.
- 10
Seal the tip on the underside of the rugelach so that the cookie stays closed.
- 11
Gently bend the ends of the rugelach inward to give them a crescent shape.
- 12
Repeat steps 4–11 with the remaining dough discs.
- 13
Place the rugelach onto the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart, and chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- 14
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 15
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with a splash of water to create an egg wash.
- 16
Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash onto the cold rugelach.
- 17
Bake the rugelach until golden brown and crispy, 15–20 minutes.
- 18
Let the rugelach cool completely on the baking sheet before serving, about 15 minutes.
- 19
Store in an airtight container.
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