These cute little croissant-like cookies can be filled with whatever makes you happy! I chose to use jam, cinnamon sugar and some chocolate.
Even though the holidays have come and gone, I still like to reminisce about the good times we’ve had in previous years. My former coworker hosts a cookie exchange each December, but it obviously didn’t happen last month. Thirty-some women would normally attend, snack on hors d’ouevres, sip wine, and swap cookies. It was something that I looked forward to each year, as it was a great time to catch up with old friends and make new ones.
In lieu of the cookie exchange, I opted to bake my own cookies and exchange them for hugs from my family. One of the cookies I’ve been meaning to bake is rugelach. Look at them – they are so cute and croissant-like. What’s not to love? Well, except the calorie count?
I spread a layer of peach jam in my rugelach, sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar and added chocolate chips for good measure. Although the cookies were tasty, they could definitely have used more filling. I would go heavy on the cinnamon sugar the next time and stuff these guys to the brim with chocolate chips. I found that the cookie layer was a bit too thick so the cookie/filling ratio was off.
Despite the ratio being slightly off, these rugelach were a fun cookie to eat. You can absolutely fill them with whatever you prefer – like if Nutella is your thing, or if you want to add some nuts and raisins instead. If you do a Google search for rugelach fillings, you’ll see plenty of ideas.
Husband’s rating: 3 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 3.5 out of 5
My rating: 3.5 out of 5
Rugelach
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1 8-ounce package cold cream cheese cut into chunks
- 1 egg yolk
Filling
- ¼ cup fruit jam raspberry, apricot, or peach preferred
- 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- chocolate chips of choice
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt together to combine. Add the butter, cream cheese and egg yolk and continue pulsing until a rough dough comes together. It should resemble wet sand.
- Turn the food processor off and take the out the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Flatten each portion into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.
- Take one disc of dough out from the refrigerator (keep the others in the refrigerator until ready to use). Roll it out into a circle about ⅛ inch thick.
- Heat the jam into the microwave or on the stove so it's runny and turns to liquid. Using a pastry brush, the back of spoon or a butter knife, spread a layer of the jam on top of your dough.
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle a layer on top of the jam. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut it into 12 equal wedges.
- Take each triangle and roll it up like a croissant - start with the widest end and roll it towards the pointy end. Place the tip side down and put it on your prepared pan. You should be able to fit about 24 cookies per sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 12 minutes. Then rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom. Bake an additional 13-18 minutes or until the cookies turn golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool before serving.
- You can also freeze the dough to use later. Simply wrap each disc of dough in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe bag. Allow the dough to thaw overnight before rolling out. Another option is to roll the rugelach cookies and freeze them to bake later. After you're done rolling out the cookies, freeze the entire tray in the freezer until solid. Transfer the frozen cookies to an airtight, freezer-safe container. Bake in your oven as described above (no need to thaw out before baking). The cookies may need a few extra minutes in the oven, so keep your eye on them.