From Zingerman’s Bakehouse by Amy Emberling and Frank Carollo
Rugelach are the most popular and well-known Jewish cookies in the United States and are definitely the most popular Jewish cookies we make at the bakery. This version is a mix between a cookie and a pastry, with a delicate and flaky dough (two-thirds of the dough is fat—butter and cream cheese) encasing special fillings, sprinkled with sugar, and baked until golden brown.
Rugelach evolved from the Eastern European Jewish cookie called kipfel. In the early 1950s, the name “rugelach” appeared, and now it has taken over. The word seems to come from rug (Slavic for “horn”) and lakh (a diminutive plural), thus “little horns.”
The original cookie was made with a yeasted dough. The now very common unleavened form was first introduced in the United States in the 20th century because it was easier to make and stayed fresh longer than the yeasted version. The use of cream cheese in the dough started in the early 1950s.
The popularity of rugelach is surprising to us because they’re plain looking, without a lot of eye appeal. People who have never tried them are shocked at how good they are. Rugelach can be made in many different flavors—apricot, raspberry, and chocolate, to name a few. This is our most popular flavor—walnuts and currants.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, room temperature ¾ cup 170 g
- Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature ¾ cup 170 g
- Sea salt ½ tsp
- Pastry flour 1 cup plus 3 Tbsp 170 g
- Walnuts ½ cup 55 g
- Currants ⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp 55 g
- Granulated sugar ⅓ cup 65 g
- Ground cinnamon 1 tsp
- Unsalted butter, melted ¼ cup 55 g
- Ground cinnamon 1 Tbsp
- Granulated sugar ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp 140 g
Instructions
MAKE THE DOUGH
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese, and salt. Mix until well combined but not airy. Add the flour and mix until fully incorporated.
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and flatten out into an even disk about 8 in [20 cm] in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The dough needs to chill completely before it is rolled out.
MAKE THE FILLING
Toast the walnuts on a sheet tray in a 325°F [165°C] oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they’re a deep golden brown. Let cool, then chop them in a food processor or with a knife until they are the same size as the currants.
In a medium bowl, mix the walnuts, currants, sugar, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE RUGELACH
Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C].
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it. Lightly flour a work surface and place the disk of dough on it. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll the dough into a 14-in [35-cm] circle about ⅛ in [4 mm] thick. Keep moving the dough as you’re rolling it to make sure it doesn’t stick.
Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter and spread the filling mixture on it evenly. With a pastry wheel cutter, cut the dough circle into 16 even, triangular wedges. Starting at the outer edge, roll each piece to the center. The resulting cookie will look like a crescent or a little horn.
Mix the cinnamon and sugar. Place the rolled rugelach on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush the tops with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes. The rugelach should be golden brown and flaky.
MAKES 16 RUGELACH
Reprinted with permission from Zingerman’s and Chronicle Books, 2017. All rights reserved.
