Warning- these rugelach are incredibly dairy and delicious. I make them with nuts and without nuts. Either way, your family and guests will clamor for more! This is not one of those 1-2-3 recipes; but the results are more than worth it! They can be frozen; but beware they can also be eaten frozen!
I love to eat raisins out of the box. My very personal pet peeve is finding raisins in baked goods. I can deal with them in Challah but not in rugelach. As I said, it’s a very personal idiosyncrasy. If you love raisins in your rugelach; just add them to the apricot mix or leave out the apricots and just use the raisins. It’s your personal decision.
For another traditional cookie that everyone loves, try my Mandelbread
Prep time: 2 hours
Note: Rolling the rugelach in turbinado sugar before baking turns them into a crunchy bite before you sink into the cream cheese and butter.
Rugelach
By Published: May 22, 2018
- Cuisine: Eastern European
- Course: Dessert
- Skill Level: Moderate
Yield:
- about 30-40
Ingredients
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter softened
- 3 ounces full fat cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon flour
- 7 ounces dried apricots
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans/walnuts optional
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar optional
Equipment
- waxed paper
- 2 large cookie sheets lined with baking parchment
- rolling pin
- sharp knife
Directions
- Dough: Cream butter, cream cheese, and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy by hand or in electric mixer. Add salt and 1 1/2 cups flour and blend well. Remove from mixing bowl and knead dough with your hands for a minute or two. Flatten into a rectangle, wrap in waxed paper and chill for one hour.
- Remove dough from fridge. Sprinkle some flour on flat cold surface , on rolling pin and on both sides of dough. Roll out dough until it is 1/4 inch thick. Fold dough in thirds and then in half again. Repeat this procedure one more time. Chill 20 minutes.
- While dough is chilling, make filling . Mince apricots with remaining tablespoon of flour. Mix with cinnamon and three tablespoons sugar. Add nuts if you have chosen to use them. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to: 350°F.
Roll out dough into a 1/8th inch square. Cut off any ragged edges and save for later. Cut out triangles about 1 1/2 inches at the base. Place 1/2 teaspoon of apricot mixture near the base of the triangle and roll it up toward the point. Roll in turbinado sugar if desired. Carefully, remove rugelach from the counter and place on a cookie sheet. Repeat this process until all the dough has been used. Gather up any scraps and make as many more rugelach as you can. Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on racks before serving. These rugelach freeze beautifully. Warning: I know for a fact that one can eat them frozen!
