The dough is amazingly easy to work with and these were a cinch to put together. Of course my husband was the deciding vote, he said they were better than any his mother ever made. Wow! This recipe is a keeper and the pastry is just perfection.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend butter, cream cheese and flour. Divide dough into three balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
In a medium bowl, stir together preserves, nuts, raisins and brown sugar. Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit on counter for about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
On lightly floured surface or silicone mat, roll one ball of dough into a 12-inch circle. Using a pizza cutter, cut circle into 16 wedges. Place 1 teaspoonful of filling across wide end of each wedge. Starting at wide end, roll toward the point.
Place cookies point side down on ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining two dough balls and filling.
Bake 20-22 minutes. When cool enough to handle cookies, remove from cookie sheet, dip bottoms in granulated sugar and place on wax paper to cool completely.
So yummy!
Rugelach
Filling:
1/2 cup apricot-pineapple (or apricot) preserves
1 cup chopped walnut
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened (2 sticks)
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter
To make filling: In a medium bowl, stir together preserves, nuts, raisins and brown sugar. Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight.
To make dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend butter, cream cheese and flour. (You also can mix the dough by hand.) Divide dough into three balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit on counter for about 15 minutes.
To make topping: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
On lightly floured surface or silicone mat, roll one ball of dough into a 12-inch circle. Using a pizza cutter, cut circle into 16 wedges. Place 1 teaspoonful of filling across wide end of each wedge. Starting at wide end, roll toward the point. Place cookies point side down on ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining two dough balls and filling.
Bake 22 minutes. When cool enough to handle cookies, remove from cookie sheet, dip bottoms in granulated sugar and place on wax paper to cool completely.
Make the dough and filling a day ahead of time and refrigerate. The dough will firm up; the filling ingredients will meld and the sugar will dissolve.
Roll out the dough on a floured silicone mat if you have one. That will help make the very-sticky dough easier to handle.
Be precise: Roll out a circle of dough to exactly 12 inches in diameter, and cut it into 16 wedges. This makes for more uniform, pretty cookies.
Dip your knife in flour before you cut the rolled-out dough into wedges, so it doesn’t stick.
Put the filling right at the wide edge of the triangle so it’s less likely to spill out of the cookie. Don’t overfill.
Be generous with cinnamon sugar, which gives the rugelach a lovely sandy surface.
Bake for exactly 22 minutes on a cookie sheet lined with baking parchment or a silicone mat, to catch drips and spills that can burn. When cool enough to handle, dip the cookie bottoms in granulated sugar so they won’t stick to your cookie tin or wax paper.
Mental P Mama says
Wow! I bet he made those petrified pieces of doo doo on purpose;) I will be right there. With coffee;)
linda says
i enjoy baking rugelach. thus far my fav is chocolate but, this recipe looks great!
thanks for this lovely recipe & all the fabulous tips.
wishing you & your family a wonderful new year!
Barbie with a T says
Those look so yummy. I bet you could do the same filling with crescent roll dough and get the same flavors. However, not the consistency of that delicious looking crust.
Lisa says
Oh my this recipe sounds amazing, wow. I love the filling!
Sara in NY says
Wow, I have been looking for a good recipe for a long time…this sounds like the one!! I am not so good at rolling out dough but I am going to try!
Dawn says
This is my kind of dessert! Little puffs of yum!
Lauren at KeepItSweet says
I LOVE rugelach! Although, I prefer a chocolate filling or cinnamon sugar without the nuts.
Penny Wolf says
I love Rugelach! This looks like a great recipe for them. I bet you are glad that you have made them now.It can now start to be part of your sons memories.
Tom Saaristo says
I adore rugelach! I’ve never made my own even though I’ve seen recipes (including this one) that make it seem so easy! Maybe next Christmas! Happy Holidays to you and yours Cathy!
Bonnie says
I haven’t made Rugelach in years…but this has inspired me to make a batch. Maybe this weekend. THEN…the after holiday diet will begin!
Fallon says
That is a great recipe. Definitely a keeper.
laura says
yum, i love rugelach. especially the chocolate + cinnamon variety. these look so good!
Peg Williams says
Do you have a recipie for the chocolate variation? If so,plese post. Thank you
Noble Pig says
No I don’t.
Lea Ann says
This just piqued my non-existent sweet tooth. Beautiful photos and a very tasty sounding recipe.
Kara says
For a chocolate version I have used a similar dough with nutella in the center. They are amazing! Your dough would work perfect.
Danielle says
These look yummy! And fairly easy to make…might be found in my kitchen soon! Oh, and the wine was delish! Happy New Year!
Stephanie says
Those look so so good
PG says
Wow — they look perfect. First attempt too. Very impressive.
Happy new year!