I’m sure when you think of a crescent shaped pastry, you think of croissants. Same here. Until today. Now I will also be thinking of rugelach.
Rugelach is a Jewish pastry, filled with sweet fillings and rolled into a crescent shape. Rugelach is traditionally eaten during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
My good friend Suzi passed along this recipe. I’ll admit that I had never eaten rugelach before trying this recipe. Now I’ll never look back. This recipe is absolutely delicious. The dough is so tender and light, and the filling possibilities are endless.
Suzi – again, an amazing recipe. Thank you so much. I am so happy to be able to try and pass your recipes along.
I made a few of these rugelach by cutting my dough circles into 8, which made larger pastries. I also made some by cutting them into 12, which made adorable tiny pastries, like Suzi’s Auntie Anna used to make. I chose to fill my rugelach with three different fillings: strawberry jam and chocolate, orange marmalade and dried cranberries, and butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon with chopped pecans. All were wonderful, but I’m a real sucker for anything orange cranberry, so they were my personal favourites.
[Recipe] Cream Cheese Rugelach
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
8 oz Butter (softened)
2 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp Salt
½ cup finely chopped walnuts mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup apricot jam
Beat together cream cheese and butter.
Sift flour, sugar and salt together and beat into cheese mixture to make a soft dough.
Knead slightly by hand.
Wrap and chill overnight.
To bake the rugelach, begin by preheating the oven to 350F.
Divide dough into 6 equal pieces.
Shape each piece of dough into a ball and roll out on floured surface into 9” circle (one ball at a time).
Spread a thin layer of apricot jam (or whatever filling you’d like) over dough.
Sprinkle with nut mixture.
Using the rolling pin, press down gently to flatten the nut mixture into the dough.
Cut circle into 8 wedges (triangles).
These are the strawberry and chocolate:
Orange marmalade and cranberry:
Brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecan:
If you want them to be tiny, cut 12-14 wedges instead of 8.
Roll each triangle into a crescent shape curving the tapered edges inwards when placing the rugelach on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake 18-20 minutes.
[Recipe] Suzi’s Cream Cheese Rugelach
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 8 oz Butter softened
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ cup finely chopped walnuts mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup apricot jam
Instructions
- Beat together cream cheese and butter.
- Sift flour, sugar and salt together and beat into cheese mixture to make a soft dough.
- Knead slightly by hand.
- Wrap and chill overnight.
- To bake the rugelach, begin by preheating the oven to 350F.
- Divide dough into 6 equal pieces.
- Shape each piece of dough into a ball and roll out on floured surface into 9” circle (one ball at a time).
- Spread a thin layer of apricot jam over dough.
- Sprinkle with nut mixture.
- Using the rolling pin, press down gently to flatten the nut mixture into the dough.
- Cut circle into 8 wedges (triangles).
- If you want them to be tiny, cut 12-14 wedges instead of 8.
- Roll each triangle into a crescent shape curving the tapered edges inwards when placing the rugelach on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake 18-20 minutes.
