Raspberry rugelach are buttery, flaky crescent-shaped pastries filled with raspberry jam. They're perfect for your next holiday cookie tray!
Raspberry rugelach are the perfect addition to your next dessert tray for Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, or Christmas. While technically a pastry, these buttery, flaky crescents would make a great addition to your next cookie tray.
While they look complicated, they're easier to make than you think. First, you'll mix together a cream cheese pastry dough. The dough is then rolled out into a thin circle and topped with raspberry jam. Last, the dough is rolled up into tiny crescents and baked to perfection.
Make raspberry rugelach this holiday season. They're easy to prepare ahead of time - the dough or baked rugelach can be frozen for up to three months. For a sweeter variation, try my cinnamon rugelach - they're like tiny cinnamon rolls!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Cream cheese - I recommend using block-style, full fat cream cheese for this recipe. I have not tested this recipe with low-fat cream cheese or whipped cream cheese, so I can't say how the texture of your dough would turn out.
- Butter - Unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter if needed.
- Flour - All-purpose flour is necessary for structure and balance with the wet ingredients. I have not tested this recipe with other types of flours, so I can't say for sure how they'd turn out. To avoid wasting ingredients, I recommend searching for a recipe that's developed for the ingredients you'd like to use.
- Granulated sugar - Adds just a hint of sweetness to the dough.
- Vanilla - Adds vanilla flavor to the dough.
- Jam - We're using raspberry jam as the filling for our rugelach. I recommend using a nice thick jam to prevent jam from leaking out excessively. Some of your jam will leak out (this is normal) but a thin or homemade jam is more likely to leak out than a thicker, store bought jam. Raspberry jam can be substituted with any flavor of jam.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of the other ingredients without making the rugelach 'salty'. If you're using salted butter, I recommend omitting the listed salt.
- Egg & milk - Egg wash can be substituted with heavy cream or melted butter. Any of these substitutions will give your crescents a golden brown coating when baked.
Tips and tricks
Room temperature ingredients - Make sure your butter and cream cheese are room temperature to create a creamy, consistent dough.
Properly measure flour - This is the most common issue I see in baking. If you often have issues with cookies not spreading or turning out extra thick and bland, you probably measured too much flour into your dough.
How to measure flour - Use a kitchen scale along with the gram measurements in the recipe card. Don't have a scale? Use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup, then level off with a knife. Scooping flour directly from the container with a measuring cup compacts the flour into the cup. This can add up to 25% more flour to your dough.
Parchment paper - This helps prevent your pastries from spreading too much while baking. A greased baking pan guarantees your pastries spread more than they should.
Sticky dough? - Is your dough too sticky to handle? Dust your counter top, hands, and rolling pin with flour. Keep extra flour to the side and continually dust your dough as needed.
Rolling out dough - Work with one dough disc at a time. Roll it out into a large circle. It's okay if the edges are rough, they're not noticeable once your rugelach are rolled up.
Slicing wedges - After adding the jam, slice each circle into 12 wedges. I recommend slicing the circle into quarters, then slicing each quarter into thirds.
Rolling rugelach - Starting at the outside edge, roll each triangle up into a crescent shape and gently place onto your prepared sheet pan. Top each rugelach with egg wash before transferring to the oven.
Storage
Rugelach are best within 2-3 days of baking and dry out over time. Store your rugelach in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Rugelach also freeze well. Store your baked rugelach in the freezer in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
Extra dough rounds will also keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
Rugelach are small crescent-shaped filled pastries that originated in the Jewish communities of Poland.
Rugelach dough is often made with sour cream or cream cheese, making these pastries extra tender and flaky. There are many sweet filling variations, including cinnamon, fruit preserves, raisins, walnuts, and chocolate.
While rugelach may look like a cookie, it is technically a pastry. It is most often served on Jewish holidays like Hanukkah, Shavuot, and Rosh Hashanah, though it's also a popular addition to Christmas cookie trays.
The name is Yiddish and roughly translates into "little twists".
Rugelach are best within 2-3 days of preparing and will dry out over time. If you'd like to make your rugelach more than 2-3 days ahead of time, I recommend freezing until the day of serving.
Yes, any flavor of jam will work in this recipe. I recommend using a thick jam for best results. Thin jam or fruit compote is more likely to leak out of your rugelach as they bake.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Raspberry Rugelach
Ingredients
Dough
- 8 ounces (226 g) block-style cream cheese, room temperature
- 8 ounces (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
Filling
- 1 cup seedless raspberry jam, or preserves
Egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, add cream cheese and butter to a bowl and beat until creamy and smooth. Add sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and mix until evenly incorporated. Add flour and mix on low until just incorporated (do not over-mix your dough).
- Empty dough out onto a well floured surface and form into a ball. Cut dough into four quarters, form into discs, wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Working with one ball of dough at a time, roll dough out on a floured surface into a 9-10 inch circle (the edges will be rough, this is fine). Top each circle with about ¼ cup of jam, spreading gently to the edges with a spatula.
- Slice each circle into four quarters, then slice each quarter into three even wedges (each circle makes 12 total). Starting at the outside edge, roll each wedge up into a crescent shape. Place onto prepared baking sheet with the points facing down (so they don't unroll in the oven).
- In a small bowl, whisk your egg and milk to make an egg wash. Brush each crescent lightly with egg wash. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned across the tops. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Dough storage: Dough can be prepared up to two days ahead of time, wrapped in plastic, and stored in the refrigerator. Dough can also be frozen for up to three months. Tightly wrap in a layer of plastic and a layer of foil, or store in a freezer safe bag.
- Cookie storage: Baked cookies will keep for up to 5 days (but are best within 2-3 days) in a sealed container at room temperature, or up to 3 months in a tightly sealed freezer-safe container in the freezer. Allow frozen baked goods to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
- Egg wash substitutes: Egg wash can be substituted with milk, heavy cream, or melted butter.
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!