I’m baking and learning about new confections with the TWD baking group. This Tuesday’s recipe is rugelach. I had never eaten it or made it before. I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce it (the dictionary says rŭg’ə-ləKH). What I have learned is that rugelach are traditional Jewish pastry-like cookies. The fun part is they can have endless flavor combinations. A cream cheese dough is spread with jam, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, then filled with nuts, dried fruit, or even chocolate. Rugelach cookies can be rolled into a crescent shape or rolled and cut pinwheel style. As with every TWD blog post you can find the recipe at this week’s hosts: The Urban Hiker and My Baking Heart.
So this baking adventure took me three days. The first day I made the cream cheese dough in my KitchenAid mixer. I had no problems here and wrapped it well and let it sit in the refrigerator for the next day’s work.
Rolling and filling the dough was on the second day. This recipe calls for cut rugelach so each piece of dough was rolled into a rectangle 14 inches by 10 inches and 1/4 inch thick. I am really a novice at rolling out pastry or pie dough so this was a challenge for me. It was a little too thin in a few spots but it worked.
You take the rolled out dough and cut that in half lengthwise. Then you trim the edges. This leaves you with two rectangles.
Just like spreading sauce on a pizza, you spread each half with your choice of jam. Traditional flavors are apricot and prune. I went with apricot and raspberry.
Then you sprinkle it with a brown-sugar cinnamon mixture and nuts. You could also add dried fruit here, but I kept it simple and skipped the fruit. You must press lightly here to keep the filling in place.
Last, starting with the long end of dough you roll up each rectangle jelly-roll style. This was really tough! Even though I skipped adding additional dried fruit I felt there was too much filling. It was really messy but fun.
These rolls get wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. With this recipe I had four rolls total.
The third and last day I brushed these rolls with egg wash and sliced them into 1 inch wide pieces. The rugelach were then tossed in even more cinnamon-nut sugar. I baked them for about 24 minutes at 375 degrees F. This was a little less time than the recipe called for. The biggest challenge baking these rugelach was not letting the bottoms get too brown. I doubled up my cookie sheets to help keep the bottoms from burning. I really had to watch them closely the last few minutes to prevent them from burning.
This recipe was new to me so I tried to stick to it closely. When making them again I would like to try the more traditional crescent shape. It was really hard to keep these rolls together. I also thought this recipe called for too much filling and made a ton of extra cinnamon-nut sugar. I would reduce both of these.
Rugelach are delicious! Making these has inspired me to search around the internet for more rugelach recipes and ideas. Here are some interesting flavor combos I am kicking around for next time (found on the community boards on chow).
Heath Bar Rugelach: Nutella with Heath Bar toffee bits
Lemon Tart Rugelach: Lemon curd with white chocolate and toasted almonds (skip the cinnamon sugar and only sprinkle granulated sugar for this one)
Blueberry Rugelach: Blueberry preserves with dried blueberries, white chocolate, and toasted almonds
Russian Coffee Cake Rugelach: Chopped candied cherries with milk chocolate and walnuts
Peppermint Bark Rugelach: Crushed candy canes with white chocolate and dark chocolate
Turtle Rugelach: Caramel sauce, milk or dark chocolate chips and pecans
Thanksgiving Rugelach: Pumpkin butter, dried cranberries and pecans
Do you make rugelach? What are your favorite flavor combinations?
samology said:
Spectacular! And I love how the fillings have no boundaries!! All those flavours you mentioned sound so delicious!
Baker on the Rise said:
Thank you. I love recipes like this where can you play around with so many different variations.
girlinafoodfrenzy said:
Seriously labour intensive, but definitely looks like it was a labour of love 🙂 love the caramelisation!!!
Baker on the Rise said:
I think if I give it a go again it will go much easier. When something is new to me I really take a lot longer to move things along.
tearoomdelights said:
I’ve never heard of rugelach but they look great. I think I’d be put off by the amount of work involved but I’d be very happy to taste someone else’s hard-earned efforts!
Baker on the Rise said:
I would buy them too but I have never seen them in any stores or bakeries near me. They are so yummy I will probably make them again.
fresaichigo said:
I like your step by step photos and instructions. It looks like there is a lot of work involved, but your end results look perfect and so tasty!
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks! I like to keep track with pictures. It will help me too for my next go around with this recipe.
littlefrenchbakery said:
really nice! They look great!
amywombwell said:
This looks like just a few minutes work over a few days, sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to try it.
Baker on the Rise said:
Very true. Each step was not that bad. When something is new is seems like a lot of work thinking through to make sure they come out right. Next time I make these it will be easier for sure.
Heather @ SugarDish(Me) said:
I have never heard of these- they look super! But I really suck at making things and then having to refrigerate them overnight before baking… the cookie dough is not safe from the boys in this house. Maybe I could situate a lock on the fridge.
Baker on the Rise said:
Lol, a lock might help.
Melanie said:
Great close up photo of your Rugelach! We definitely had trouble rolling the dough up into the log too. We’re going to change the shape of our rectangle next time. We loved the pool of caramelized sugar that the baked rugelach had underneath the. Such tempting flavor combination ideas! Thank you for those. I think the Thanksgiving one sounds most intrigueing.
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks! I’m trying to learn more about food photography. I would like to try rolling the dough into a circle for crescents. I think they would stay put better. I do want to try some new flavors next time!
Gretchen Noelle said:
These are so cute! LOVE the idea of the lemon and the peppermint versions. Sound delicious!
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks!
moonlightbakers said:
Great post! I loved the fact that these can be made over several days. I’m still trying to figure out how not to burn the bottoms. The pre-baked cookies freeze beautifully so I continue to experiment. I will definitely try the Lemon version!
Baker on the Rise said:
My only luck with not burning was to lesson the baking time (and keep them on doubled up pans). I would like to learn a no-fail method so the last few minutes was not so nerve wracking waiting to see if they are burning or not.
Rebecca said:
Yours look great! This was a fun (challenging) recipe. 🙂
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks! I guess the challenge is the fun part. I know I am learning more about baking!
Christine said:
Love the idea of varying the flavors, I have the other half of the dough maybe I’ll try something different next time. Beautiful Rugelach.
Cloches & Lavender said:
Love the different flavors I think I am going to tries these. Wish me luck. Rugelach are so good.
Jodie said:
Ooh, the Heath Bar Rugelach sounds amazing! Yours look fantastic! Time-consuming, I agree!
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks! Probably would only make these once in a great while. Delicious though!
Karen @ SoupAddict said:
I went with a fig and chocolate filling … but I’m completely intrigued by the lemon-white chocolate combo. Yours turned out very lovely!
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks! I hear chocolate calling my name for the next go around with rugelach for sure!
Julia said:
Yours have much more sugar on them than mine did–I love it!
Baker on the Rise said:
I had so much cinnamon-nut-sugar left over still. The recipe really asks you to make a lot.
verysmouse said:
Yours are so pretty! I think I baked mine too long, as your little sugar pools are a much nicer color than mine (they got kind of molasses-y). If I ever get the energy to make these again, I will try reducing the baking time.
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks! My first batch started to get that same molasses color too. That’s why I baked the last three rolls a little less.
Ckay said:
They look great! I skipped adding additional dried fruit , too and was so pleased I did it. They were just perfect!
Baker on the Rise said:
Agreed. They are stuffed already without the dried fruit.
royalcookie said:
These look scrumptious! I tried making similar during the holidays but the jam on the bottom burned. Any tips?
Baker on the Rise said:
I doubled up the baking sheets, cooked them on parchment paper, rotated the pan halfway through cooking time, and watched them like a hawk the last few minutes. It really came close to overbrowning on mine too.
Janice said:
They look amazing! I love your blog. I’m going to try your pineapple upside down coffee cake. It looks delicious.
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy my recipes!
stirandstitch said:
yum! i finally got myself a copy – can’t wait to jump in!
Baker on the Rise said:
lots of fun!
galettista said:
Lots of great creative filling ideas; here’s another one: mango lekvar with coconut and macadamia nuts.
Baker on the Rise said:
sounds tropical and summery, yum!
hkinnaird said:
Looks fantastic! I also had a hard time getting my “wheels” to stay rolled. I bet the crescents would be easier.
Jenn Ragland said:
I kept it simple and skipped the dried fruit as well. I used jarred prune plum butter which my girls now spread on toast. I like your idea of the raspberry jam – this pastry was so easy and so good. Mine looked store-bought!
zestybeandog said:
Looks perfect! Nicely done~
steph (whisk/spoon) said:
lovely–they look golden and beautiful! yeah, the filling amount seemed excessive when i read the reciep, so i just eyeballed to what looked good. that thanksgiving rugelach idea sounds great for next fall!
Baker on the Rise said:
Thank you. I am looking forward to trying these again with some new flavor combinations.
Lauren said:
Thanks for the additional filling combinations. Sometimes I forget it’s okay to make tweaks like that!
Food Follower said:
Thanks for visiting my blog. These look delicious! 🙂
saltandpaper said:
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yummy ideas for other flavor combinations. The heath bar sounds fantastic! And I love your banner photo of the madeleines. My 3 year old is addicted to them!
Cher said:
It looks like they came out beautifully. Great thoughts on the filling combinations.
Kaitlyn said:
I’ve never made rugelach but this looks like something I would definitely like. Thanks for sharing!
pieeyedbaker said:
These look great – glad to see you are in TWD! Loved seeing the other ideas for rugelach.
Jen said:
ooooo, heath bar rugelach sounds amazing!
loavesandstitches said:
I had trouble with the rolling also. In my second batch, I rolled the dough out thinner and wider and they spiraled better.
Yours look really good!
Erin Gennow said:
I love your suggestions for different flavors. One base recipe really opens up a whole variety of various tastes just by changing the filling. I love recipes like that. I too would like to try the crescent shaped Rugelach, although I love the sweet nutty cinnamon coating and that may be a bit tricky to coat the crescent shapes.
lvaletutto said:
Your rugelach look really great! Here is a recipe that my mom uses and that I recently made and posted about on my blog.
I think that the crescent style might be much easier to roll up, that’s how I made mine and they were a cinch! I liked your post.
Laura
Baking is my Zen said:
Nice photos. Liked to see the variations to this cookie. That’s what makes it so great. Love the diversity! 🙂
~Carmen
http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com
oven chaos said:
I also tried doubling the cookie sheets, however, the cookies were a bit on the over-caramelized side 🙂 I ended up using my ceramic pan and I was happier with the results. I love your different filling ideas!
jane said:
They look great, this was my 2nd time around and I made half the filling and still had a bit too much.There are many great recipes, good luck.
Lauren's Plate said:
So precise, I love your pictures. I think the variations look good too for the next round!
cakelaw said:
These look so good – love your process photos.
Food From Our Life said:
I would definitely give these a go, I have never heard of them before, but they look amazing. Very similar to Chelsea Buns, think savoury fillings as well – great after school snacks, especially if you go easy on the sugar. See what you think? The dough for Chelsea buns is a bit like brioche.. nice & light. I hope you don’t mind me sharing this recipe as well http://foodfromourlife.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/chelsea-buns/
Food From Our Life said:
Reblogged this on Food From Our Life and commented:
I have had a bit of a look around this lovely baking blog and there are lots of delicious recipes that we may never have heard of here in Oz, so I figured I’d share her ideas as well
Baker on the Rise said:
Thank you so much for sharing my page!
Food From Our Life said:
No worries at all 😀
hello lisanne said:
thanks for the like! i love rugelach – they bring my right back to my childhood. my favorite are with chocolate and cinnamon sugar, but i love the idea of using nutella!
Mama's Gotta Bake said:
I’ve never made rugelach. Yours look delicious, so thanks for the inspiration!
Alice said:
Love that you enjoyed this one! 🙂 I didn’t have a good experience with this one at all, but I really enjoyed reading about all your tasty experiences!
Phyllis Arlene Kirigin said:
Rugelach are wonderful. I’ll bet yours were devoured in a flash. I’ve only made the crescent type. I think keeping the dough cold is the key. Also, a little trick–to gently press the cinnamon, sugar and nuts into the jam (or lekvar), lay a piece of wax paper on top and gently roll with a rolling pin. Your process photos are great.
I love baking, too.. Thanks for liking my blog.
Happy baking!
Baker on the Rise said:
Thanks for the tips. I will try the crescent type the next time around!