The older I get the more love rugelach, but it's taken me a while to learn to make it because I've never been very patient with dough. Maybe I'm a little more patient now, but I've also learned a few techniques to help make the process of shaping rugelach easier. I've also nailed down the recipe I like best which is basically just a culmination of everything learned from Ina Garten, Dorie Greenspan and King Arthur.
Ina Garten's rugelach recipe us a good one with sugar in the dough. I used to love it, but the recipe I use now has sugar all over the dough rather than in it. The cookies are definitely sweet enough. Here is the first rugelach I ever rolled. I'll keep this photo here to make you feel better about your own!
Dorie Greenspan's rugelach recipe is great. She makes hers in a food processor with cold butter and cream cheese. I prefer using the stand mixer, so mine is a little more like Ina's in that regard. No food processor required. Below is the first one I made with Dorie's recipe. It's slightly better. The dough was easier to work with.
King Arthur's Rugelach calls for sour cream in the dough. It's easy to work with, but not as flaky as Dorie's. Overall, I think the flakiness and flavor of Dorie Greenspan's recipe won me over. I don't have a picture of the King Arthur rugelach, so maybe I'll have to make a new batch!
Flavorings for Rugelach
I always make rugelach with two different combinations of add-ins. Half the batch calls for apricot preserves, currants and pecans, while the other half of the batch is raspberry preserves, mini chocolate chips and pecans. Both versions also include cinnamon sugar.
Rugelach Tips
If you are new to making rugelach you may want to watch a YouTube with someone who has been doing it for a while. Here are the things I've learned through watching videos, reading recipes and practicing.
- The ratios in the recipe card are the ones I use to make the dough. The recipe itself makes a relatively small batch.
- For the flour, I prefer using Gold Medal or Pillsbury rather than King Arthur because the lower protein flours are a little easier to roll.
- Salted butter is my favorite lately, and on top of that I also add a tiny bit of salt. Feel free to use unsalted.
- In the past I often made my circles too small and too thick, so my rugelach was kind of doughy.The dough should be rolled into a very thin circle, so really aim for 11 inches. Rolling the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap, then peeling it off and setting it on a sugar-coated pastry mat is what works for me. The granules of sugar act as little ball bearings.
- When rolling the triangles, I have found it easier to just start rolling a triangle straight from the circle rather than pull it out and attempt to roll. I found that as the roll/cylinder gets bigger they just snap off easily. I then taper the ends a little and bend them after they've chilled for an hour. They're much easier to shape while cold.
So those are just a few tips from another amateur who never had a Jewish grandmother on standby for rugelach assistance. I look forward to getting better and better at it with more time.
Recipe
Rugelach
Ingredients
- 4 ounces salted or unsalted butter, softened (114 grams)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (114 grams)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (optional) -- Increase to ¼ if using unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (Gold Medal or Pillsbury) (130 grams)
Filling
- ½ cup apricot or raspberry preserves or ¼ cup each
- ½ cup finely chopped toasted pecans
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips and currants (⅓ of each)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 tablespoon coarse or sparkling sugar
Instructions
- With an electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the butter, cream cheese and salt (if using) until well mixed.
- Add the flour and stir until well mixed, but still crumbly. I like to mash it into the mixture with a scraper, then put the bowl on the mixer stand and use the paddle on low speed. Mix just until it barely comes together.
- Divide mixture in half and shape into two 6 oz balls. Press each ball down into a 6-inch circle. Wrap each dough circle separately in plastic and chill for an hour to rest the gluten and firm up the fats.
- Soften the preserves gently either over the stove or carefully in the microwave using a low setting or quick 10 second spurts. Pick out any large pieces of fruit. Let it cool down before using.
- Lightly flour a pastry mat.
- Take one of the cold dough circle. Unwrap it, put it on the pastry mat and lay a sheet of plastic over top. Roll it into a circle somewhere around 9-inches. Scrape up the circle and sprinkle some sugar on the mat. Set the circle on the sugar, lay a piece of plastic over it and attempt to roll the circle to 11-inches. Alternatively, you can work one dough piece at a time and roll between two pieces of plastic wrap. When you are close to 11 inches, sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on the mat and lay the circle in the sugar. The sugar acts as little ball bearings to help you roll the triangles.
- Spread a very thin layer of preserves over the circle. Sprinkle nuts and chocolate (and/or currants) over the preserves. Mix together cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle as much as you'd like over nuts and chocolate
- Using a pizza cutter, slice into 12 wedges.
- Starting with the long end, roll wedges up toward the center. Place rolled pastries on a plate lined with plastic wrap or if you can fit one into your refrigerator, a tray lined with parchment. Cover and chill the shaped pastries for an hour. Once chilled, you can bend them a little more and try to taper the ends.
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or skip if you already put them on parchment lined trays in the refrigerator).
- Brush the pastries lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Bake for about 20 minutes or however long it takes in your oven for them to appear set, puffed and have some color. Let cool.
Sally says
In your link for the Dorie rugelach there is also a recipe for World Peace Cookies. A friend brought them to our annual Cookie Exchange and they were delicious! She gave me two "logs" as a gift and I just baked them up . . . yum! By the way, I was just in Houston, TX after going on a cruise in the Caribbean. We stopped at Crave Cupcakes and we all thought they were delicious. I had the Key Lime and it was great -- just the right proportion of icing to cake and the cake was super moist and tasty!
Anna says
Judy, thanks so much for that recommendation! Since I like the cold butter method and am starting to prefer to "no sugar in the dough" version (I've been eating a lot of rugelach these past few days), I'll have to try the allrecipes recipe with sour cream in the dough. Sounds good.
Judy says
Your rugelach are beautiful, looking more like kieflees, a Hungarian cookie I always made, since I'm Hungarian. But a few years ago I tried rugelach -- recipe from allrecipes with cold butter, cream cheese & sour cream, no sugar in the dough, and they were amazing. The recipe is rated 5 out of 5 by 87 reviewers. I cut them into logs, much easier. I will only make them again if I can take them right to a party and get rid of them. They are so good I would eat them all.
hiltonc says
Anna ... Merry Christmas and thank you for your opinion regarding the recipes. I'm tempted to start with Dorie's. I've never made anything of hers that wasn't fabulous.
Anna says
Out of the two in your link, this recipe was the most interesting to me because it did not use the usual proportions of 4 oz cream cheese, 4 oz flour and 1 cup flour.
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2008/06/recipe_detail.html?id=7131
But if I had to choose between making rugelach with softened cream cheese and butter or using the cold butter/cold cream cheese method, I'd go with the cold butter method. I think cutting the butter and cheese into the dough might make the texture flakier. It did in the case of Ina's recipe vs. Dorie's.
hiltonc says
I've been wanting to make these since I first saw this article.
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2009/12/rugelach_has_cookie_greatness.html
Now, after reading your recommendations, I'm totally confused. 🙂 Need to compare the recipes and just make some. 🙂
Sarah says
These look really good. I may have to try them soon.
Rina says
These look great and you're inspiring me to try them again. I made them once a couple of years ago but had a really difficult time rolling them (tore the dough, etc.). Merry Christmas Anna!
Katrina says
I loved these when we made Dorie's for TWD. They are dangerous for me, as Kevin doesn't like them, I don't think the kids did and over the course of a few days, I ate them all! Shhh. Wish I had more time to make goodies. Yours look great--and definitelly better in the second picture. Some of mine rolled up fine and some, not so nice! Can't wait to see what other recipes you do. I haven't tired Ina's, but I heard through TWD that it was great! I like flakiness, so can't wait for your friend's!
Merry Christmas!
Ghislaine says
I'm a big fan of the Cooks Illustrated version, although I've pared down the filling to just the cinnamon sugar and mini chocolate chips. I've also found the egg wash to be optional. They are so much better than any store- or bakery-bought version I have tried.
dawn says
I have such a hard time with rugelach...the whole rolling thing is not down pat yet. Yours came out perfect though.
Sue says
Yet another cookie I've never made! So many cookies so little time! Did you use the same fillings that Dorie and Ina used?
Randi says
I made Ina's last week before I went to Cleveland. I took them to some foodie friends and my first cousin. Everyone said it was the best they ever tasted. I got frusted with rolling them in cresents so I just made a big log. I also used seedless rasberry and mini chips in one and pear jam( with the nuts, raisins) in another.
Shannon says
If you're looking for more rugelach recipes this is the only one I've ever tried:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rugelach-109475
I was also surprised to find that they're not as difficult to make as I first imagined... it just requires some patience. The recipe I linked to is a little different in that you roll the dough into one long log, make cuts part way through, bake the log, and then finish cutting the cookies once they're baked, so you end up with a different shape than in your pictures. Your rugelach good, so nice and golden brown! These have always been my favorite bakery treats.
Anna says
Sorry, Kelly. I asked her for it, but she hasn't had time to give it to me yet. I'll link over when she posts it.
Kelly says
Is there anyway that you can post the recipe from the Cosmic Cowgirl on her rugulach? I went to her website and couldn't find it.
Thanks,
Kelly
Gloria says
I'm in the no sugar in the dough camp on these. I like them with cinnamon sugar, raisins, nuts and sometimes jam and nuts!
Thanks for reminding me about these; I have not made them in years and the store-bought rugulach are not nearly as good.!
Louise says
These look tasty. I haven't made rugelach in a while and I've never tried Ina Garten's or Dorie Greenspan's recipes. The type I make is not sweet but the stuff inside makes up for it so I guess I like the contrast.
Dolce says
Oh these are to die for!
Merry Christmas to you 🙂
CindyD says
These are on my "someday" list. Thanks for comparing the recipes. Any tips on rolling them?