We’re on Day #3 of Cookie Week! And today, I’ve got a tender, rich little swirl of pastry and jam for you. Absolutely heavenly. Rugelach are just one of the awesome recipes that make me wish I had a Jewish Great-Aunt around to make them for me.
Alas, my family is devoid of Jewish cultural heritage, but I love ’em anyway. Plus, I can always make the cookies myself! And why not, when these impressive looking little guys are so simple to pull together?
The dough comes together in seconds – either by hand, in a food processor or in a stand mixer – and it’s got almost a fifty-fifty mix of cream cheese to butter. The cream cheese not only makes these cookies beautifully rich, but the acidity it adds means that the dough is incredibly forgiving and easy to work with.
The technique for rolling these little crescents is very simple, and I think my instructions are pretty easy to follow – roll the dough into a dish, spread with filling, slice like a pizza and then roll up from the outside in. But if you’d like a visual representation, the Kitchn’s got you covered.
The filling for these cookies is wide open to interpretation, you can switch up the jam, add some nuts, cinnamon sugar, chocolate, or other spices. The only trick with these is to let them bake until nice and golden brown, so that the centres get time to cook through.
Oh, and that liberal dusting of powdered sugar-snow is totally mandatory. So what’s your favourite culinary tradition, that you’ve perhaps picked up from a culture that’s not your own? I’m crazy for these guys, and I can never resist a potato latke.
xx Sarah.
- 1 cup (150g) plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 100g (4oz) butter, cold
- 150g (6oz) cream cheese, cold
- 3 tbsp raspberry jam
- powdered sugar, to decorate
- To make the dough, place all the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Work the mixture on a medium speed, until the dough looks crumbly, with some larger pieces. It’s ready when you can pick up the crumbly dough, squeeze it, and it easily comes together in a ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press and squeeze it together. Roll it into a short, fat log, wrap in plastic and chill for an hour or up to overnight.
- When you’re ready to bake the cookies, take half the dough and put the other half back in the fridge. Tear off two pieces of baking paper, and place the piece of dough between them, and then roll it out into 23cm/9inch circle.
- Spread half the jam over the dough and slice the dough like a pizza, into 12 wedges, and then roll each wedge up from the outside in, so it looks like a little croissant.
- Place the cookies onto a lined baking tray, and then do the same thing with the next piece of dough. Place the cookies on their trays into the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
- Bake the cookies for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, before dusting liberally with powdered sugar and store in an airtight container.
They look delicious – I love baking cookies at Christmas time. Christmas offers the perfect excuse to bake in large quantities and use lots of butter! Thanks for sharing – I will have to add these to my list of what to bake next.
So pretty!! Loving all these cookies, Sarah! :)
What great timing–on the first night of Hanukkah! I’m a little scarred by rugelach because I used to have to make them by the hundreds for a job–they quickly become not so cute when making them in bulk. But I still love the taste, and agree they’re a perfect holiday cookie!
I got all excited in the first paragraph when you mentioned ham. Took me too long to realize that was a typo. They still look delicious, though!
I LOVE MY SOME RUGELACH! mmm … haven’t made these in a while. they look delicious! go cookie week, go!
i can’t believe the dough only has 3 ingredients.. does salt even sound?
I’ll have to make these next time i pick up some jam or preserves!
sound? i mean’t count… thanks, spell check.
Love how you’ve gone all traditional with these cookies – I never knew they were so easy to make!
I just discovered rugelach a few weeks ago and I made some for a Hannukah party. I filled mine with apricot jam but I think I’ll be doing raspberry next time thanks to you!