Raspberry rugelach are buttery, flaky crescent-shaped pastries filled with raspberry jam. They're perfect for your next holiday cookie tray!
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Flaky, buttery crescents filled with tart raspberry jam.
Easy to make ahead: Baked pastries keep in the freezer for 3 months.
Yield: 48 pastries
Similar to: Cinnamon Rugelach
Jump to:
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter - Unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter if needed.
- Jam - Any flavor of jam works in this recipe. Thick, store bought jam works best to prevent leaking while baking. Some of your jam will leak out (this is normal) but thin/homemade jam is more likely to leak than a thicker, store bought jam.
- Egg & milk - Egg wash can be substituted with heavy cream or melted butter. Any of these substitutions create a golden brown coating when baked.
How to make raspberry rugelach
- Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth, then add remaining dough ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and form into a ball. Divide dough into four equal pieces.
- Form into discs, wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll out one disc at a time into a 9-10 inch circle.
- Spread ¼ cup of preserves over the dough, then slice into 12 wedges.
- Pull each wedge out one at a time and, starting at the wide edge, roll up into a crescent.
- Brush the tops with egg wash.
- Bake until golden brown across the tops.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Room temperature ingredients - Make sure your butter and cream cheese are room temperature to create a creamy, consistent 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.
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 (300 g) seedless raspberry 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 ¼ cup of jam, spreading gently to about ½" from the edge.
- Slice each circle into four quarters, then slice each quarter into three even wedges (each circle makes 12 total). Pull each wedge away from the circle and starting at the outside edge, roll 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 gently 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!