Active Time
40 minutes
Total Time
9 hours 45 minutes (includes chilling dough)
A great rugelach recipe gets handed down in families, passed along on handwritten index cards or smudged printouts along with the family kiddush cups. This traditional Jewish pastry has been made in some form for centuries, having evolved from Eastern European pastries. Over time, two different styles emerged. The first was a labor-intensive cookie with a laminated yeasted dough (similar to a croissant). The second was a simpler, faster version made with cream cheese. (This is the version you’re most likely to find in American Jewish kitchens and delis because it originated here in the 1950s.) Some rugelach are rolled into a crescent shape, while others are formed into long rolls and then sliced—these are the latter.
Thankfully, you don’t need a bubbe of your own to learn to make great rugelach—just access to one’s recipes. This version comes from former Gourmet food editor Melissa Roberts-Matar. It was inspired by her great-great-grandmother, who owned a small hotel in the Catskills, and is made with a cream cheese–based rugelach dough that’s swirled with raspberry or apricot jam, nuts, sugar, and ground cinnamon. The dairy should be room temperature so that it’s easy to bring the dough together by hand, but note that you will need to chill the dough for at least eight hours before forming your cookies. Use a sharp knife when slicing the logs into equal wedges, so they bake evenly with clear spirals and golden brown tops. This is a fairly flexible recipe, so you can play with the fillings: Try using a different jam like cranberry or fig, swapping in Nutella, substituting walnuts for pecans, or making your version with a sprinkling of brown sugar, your favorite dried fruit, or chocolate chips.
Ingredients
Makes about 44 cookies
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined well. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, then flatten (in wrap) into a roughly 7x5" rectangle. Chill until firm, 8 to 24 hours.
Step 2
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of 1–1½"-deep large shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
Step 3
Cut dough into 4 pieces. Chill 3 pieces, wrapped in plastic wrap, and roll out remaining piece into a 12x8" rectangle on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment, then transfer to a tray and chill while rolling out remaining dough in same manner, transferring each to another sheet of parchment and stacking on tray.
Step 4
Whisk ½ cup sugar with cinnamon.
Step 5
Arrange 1 dough rectangle on work surface with a long side nearest you. Spread ¼ cup preserves evenly over dough with offset spatula. Sprinkle ¼ cup raisins and a rounded ¼ cup walnuts over jam, then sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar.
Step 6
Using parchment as an aid, roll up dough tightly into a log. Place, seam side down, in lined baking pan, then pinch ends closed and tuck underneath. Make 3 more logs in same manner and arrange 1" apart in pan. Brush logs with milk and sprinkle each with 1 tsp. of remaining granulated sugar. With a sharp large knife, make ¾"-deep cuts crosswise in dough (not all the way through) at 1" intervals. (If dough is too soft to cut, refrigerate until firmer, 20–30 minutes.)
Step 7
Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to warm on baking sheet set atop wire rack, about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board and slice cookies all the way through.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally printed in the May 2004 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for more of our best cookie recipes →
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Reviews (154)
Back to TopI get rave reviews with this recipe. I really feel like a pasty chef when I make them. They are fun to make. Very rich and tasty, so I only make them when I have a people gathering. They also freeze very well.
Toni G.
Deer Isle, ME
12/5/2023
When my beloved Russian-Jewish grandmother died, she unfortunately took to the grave the recipe for her magical rugelach. This recipe is the closest I've ever come to capturing the flavor and texture of the rugelach she served, so it's been my go-to recipe for years now. When my sons still lived at home, I had to bake at least two batches because they always ended up noshing the better part of a batch while the cookies were still warm. For them, the smell of this cookie baking was the siren's call! This is a special, old-world cookie; store bakery rugelach is a different (and inferior) animal altogether. I follow this recipe to the letter, but with one hack: I only use King Arthur Baking Co. (VT) unbleached all-purpose flour. In a very unscientific side-by-side comparison one year, I baked identical batches of rugelach; one batch using King Arthur and the other with Pillsbury. All of my taste testers agreed that the King Arthur batch was hands-down the winner; more tender and flakey.
Barbra H.
Greenfield, MA
12/14/2021
This was my first time making this recipe. Oh my gosh! These are amazing good! The apricot did ooze out of the bottom a little bit. Next time I might try a little less apricot. I will also try some with out the apricot.
floshane
Ohio
1/11/2021
The instructions on this recipe are fantastic. Now I'll be making it year round instead of once.
pumpum
Maryland
12/16/2020
The best recipe if you want authentic Rugelach.
qizus
Duvall, WA
11/19/2020
My grandmother knew Bubbe Sarah and we enjoyed these when I was a kid. So happy to be making them now. What a recipe find for me!
Chrisbug
Philadelphia pa
10/24/2020
Delicious! Time consuming but easy to make, I use 1/2 golden and 1/2 black raisins. I put together a few weeks in advance, freeze and bake on holiday.
reidlieberman
NY
9/12/2020
First of all, great recipe. Thank you. In response to Lynnar, the Jewish people down here that you mention have been living down here since 1695, long before your beloved New York was a state. If you want proof, take a look at the Jewish cemetery on Coming Street where nine brave fighters of the American Revolution are buried, including, Francis Salvadore the first Jewish person to die in the Revolutionary War. Now, let's jump forward slightly to the fact that the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the country is centered downtown, also known as KKBE and the birthplace of American Reform Judaism. In 1800, South Carolina had the largest Jewish population of any state in the country. We Jewish Charlestonians know what Rugelach are (also known in our family as little ruggies) and have for quite a few generations. New Yorkers, such as yourself, do not own the rights to these recipes. We do also, know what a "Come-here" is. If you choose to live here, then don't insult the people who have lived and died here for generations before you decided you liked it enough to leave NYC and move down here.
Anonymous
Charleston, SC
9/11/2020
I am a rugelach fan and this recipe is really the best!!
Anonymous
Chile
5/6/2020
Lebrun from NJ, I make these ahead every year and freeze them. They are by far better fresh (the pastry is), but they are still delectable after having been frozen!
bobbus
BC, Canada
12/12/2018
These cookies i've been making for a long time, everyone loves them, they are so delicious. I was wondering can you freeze these?
lebrun
nj
12/8/2018
I am not sure I already wrote a review on this, but this is by far THE BEST RUGELACH RECIPE! I have been using this recipe for years. People in Charleston,SC are addicted to them. You cannot find this kind of Rugelach down here. I'm from NYC, so up there we are spoiled. even if you are not Jewish in NYC, everyone knows what Rugleach is. Down here in the South, they have no idea. but they take one bite and they are in heaven. The Jewish people down here all tell me this Rugleach tastes exactly how their grandmothers used to make it. So you know it is the real deal!!! When you Google other recipes, they all have you roll up in mini croissants. One did not even have you use apricot jam. Or golden raisins. It seems all the other recipes copy from one another. This is the only one that has you make it the old fashion way. I tried one of them and it is not the same. Does not come close. I am so glad I found this recipe.
lynnar
Charleston, SC
10/8/2018
My new favorite rugelach recipe of all time. I’ve been baking these for years, and have never made such an amazing batch! Plus, these are easier than any other recipe that I’ve ever tried. Yay Epicurious!!!
angco49560
Westchester, NY
9/10/2018
Very labor intensive for a rookie, but worth every minute! The pastry is perfection! The cream cheese shines through like no other recipe I’ve tried. Followed the directions to the letter and I’m glad I did. I’d have blown it without the rechilling directions. Will def make this again!!
dgttds8141
Delray Beach, FL
7/28/2018
A lot of work, but people raved about these!
remistress
Santa Rosa, CA
2/10/2017
