Rugelach

A well-known Jewish pastry, the Yiddish word rugelach translates to “little twists.” Cut down the middle of one of these flaky filled pastries, and you’ll reveal stunning swirls of jam or a homemade sweet walnut filling. While these soft and pillowy pastries (that resemble little baby croissants) may look difficult, the dough really is quite simple to make. Once made, all you need to do is refrigerate, fill, and roll—that’s it! Make a batch of these bite-sized pastries, then serve them as a brunch treat, an afternoon snack, or light dessert all week long. Here’s everything you need to know:

How to make rugelach:
The rugelach dough is super simple to make and is similar to our homemade pie crust, but the addition of cream cheese to the dough is what makes these pastries extra tender while still having that irresistible flakiness. To make the dough, you’ll pulse flour and salt together in a food processor before adding butter and cream cheese until the dough starts to come together. 

If you don’t have a food processor, no sweat—you can still make rugelach. Make the dough by beating softened butter and softened cream cheese together until smooth, then add the flour and salt and mix until just combined. For the filling, chop the walnuts finely, then mix with brown sugar and cinnamon. 

What should I fill them with?
You've got options here. Rugelach is typically filled with jam or a sweet walnut and brown sugar mixture, but you could also fill them with Nutella. We went with raspberry and apricot preserves here in addition to our homemade walnut filling, but feel free to experiment with your favorite jam. 

Make ahead & freezing rugelach.
If you’re looking for a perfect make-ahead dessert, look no further—rugelach freeze beautifully. After filling and rolling you can keep them frozen for up to 3 months and bake them off as you desire.

Storage.
If you have leftover rugelach (though we can’t imagine you would), store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. 

Have you tried these yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below!