This easy Rugelach Cookies recipe makes flaky, soft, and perfect crescent-shaped pastries filled with sweet jam and dusted with powdered sugar. They are really simple and quick to make; in fact, you don’t even have to wait for butter to soften. Make these cookies for your Holiday cookie platter, or any time!
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Helpful Reader Review
“Thank you so much Natasha for your website, I love Rogaliki (rugelach) but never could make them myself. And I just did it and can’t stop eating them!” – Olga ★★★★★
Rugelach Video
Rugelach cookies are classic Holiday cookies from Eastern Europe that are loved all over the world. They may look sophisticated, but watch the video to see how easy they are to make.
Easy Rugelach Recipe
My mom calls this rugelach recipe “Rogaliki” and whips them up all the time, especially during the holidays and for special occasions. Since it’s so much a favorite, I even featured it in my Natasha’s Kitchen Cookbook.
My mom makes her own blackcurrant preserves for the filling (oh goodness, if I could just let you lick the spoon), but you can use raspberry, strawberry, or any flavor you prefer.
Rugelach Cookie Ingredients
You’ll need just a few simple ingredients to make this rugelach cookie recipe, but they will surely become a favorite Holiday cookie recipe in your house.
- Flour – all-purpose works just fine here, but be sure to measure it correctly to ensure the pastry has the best texture.
- Rapid rise yeast – also called instant yeast. No need to proof this yeast; just make sure it’s not expired and was sealed properly.
- Unsalted butter, melted and then cooled, to easily incorporate into the dough. You can partially melt in the microwave, then stir to melt and cool at once.
- Whole milk – warm to 110°F to help activate the yeast. Make sure it’s not too hot or it can deactivate the yeast.
- Sugar – granulated sugar to sprinkle over the dough before rolling. Don’t forget powdered sugar for dusting the top since the cookies don’t contain much sugar without it.
- Jam – any flavor of your choice, but be sure to choose a thicker-textured jam so it won’t run out of the sides of the cookie. An even consistency jam works best.
Rugelach Variations
Classic rugelach cookies come in so many flavors, oftentimes with nuts or fruit mixed in. Here are a few ideas to finely chop with a food processor before sprinkling over the dough:
- Nuts – try almonds, pecans, or walnuts for Walnut Rugelach
- Dried Fruit – cranberries or raisins
- Chocolate rugelach – mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings, or swap the jam for chocolate hazelnut spread
How to Make Rugelach Cookies
A stand mixer with a paddle attachment is easiest, but you can use an electric hand mixer to mix the cookie dough.
- Whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt in a small bowl and line two cookie sheets with parchment.
- Make the Dough – use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to combine the butter and milk, and then reduce the speed to medium-low and add the flour mixture a little at a time. Switch to the dough hook and continue mixing in the stand mixer or knead by hand for 3 minutes until very soft, but not sticky. Rest on the counter for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough – Divide the rugelach dough into 5 pieces, and then cover 4 pieces with plastic wrap while rolling out the one piece to about a 10″ circle with a rolling pin.
- Make the cookies – sprinkle 1/2 Tbsp of sugar over the dough disk, then use a pizza cutter to cut into 12 slices. Add a small dollop of jam (about the size of a marble) to the large side of each triangle and then roll each triangle up, starting from the jam side. Place on the cookie sheet tail-end-down, then repeat with the other 4 pieces of dough.
- Proof in a warm place (<100°F) for 30 minutes in a warmed oven or until puffed. Do not overheat, or you will exhaust the yeast. You should see them visibly puff, but not double (see the photo below for before and after). Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until they just begin to turn golden, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through baking, then cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. You can also flip them to see if they are turning golden brown on the bottom.
- Add the confectioners sugar – generously roll the WARM cookies in a bowl of powdered sugar and set on a serving tray. The powdered sugar will stick better if the cookies are warm.
Pro Tip:
Don’t skip that confectioner’s sugar step! The Rugelach cookie dough doesn’t have any sugar besides the little bit we sprinkled on the dough, so it isn’t very sweet and can use a bit of powdered sugar to round out the flavor.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
‘Tis the season for baking! Once you make these Rugelach cookies, round out your cookie tray with these festive Holiday Cookie Recipes:
- Almond Snowball Cookies
- Palmiers Cookies
- Angel Wing Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Cranberry Cookies
- Russian Tea Cakes
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Baklava
I hope you fall in love with my Mom’s classic Rugelach cookie recipe. These tasty treats are some of my favorites to make and share with friends. The rolled shape, sweet jam filling, and buttery dough make for a beautiful and delicious cookie. Add these rugelach cookies to your Holiday baking list!
Rugelach Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoons rapid rise or instant yeast
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), melted and cooled to 110˚F
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed to 110˚F
- 2½ Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 cup berry jam or blended preserves, preferably a thick consistency
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, for finishing
Instructions
- Prep – Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make the dough – In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the butter and milk. With the mixer on medium-low speed (or speed level 2 if your mixer has this setting), add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, letting it incorporate with each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Continue mixing for another 3-5 minutes, or knead by hand. The dough will be soft and won't stick to hands or the mixing bowl. If the dough is still sticking to your fingertips, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temp 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough – Divide the dough into five equal pieces and loosely cover them with plastic wrap. On a clean, smooth surface, use a rolling pin to roll one piece of the dough into a 10-inch circle, less than ¹⁄8 inch thick.
- Make the cookies – Sprinkle ½ tablespoon of the granulated sugar over the entire surface of the dough disk. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 even triangle slices (as you would cut a pizza). Add a marble-size portion of the jam over the wider part of each dough triangle, then roll up the dough from the jam side, keeping a fairly tight roll as you go. Place the rolled rugelach tail side down on the prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Proof – Let the rugelach proof in a warm place (not hotter than a 100°F oven) for 30 to 45 minutes (or at room temperature 60-90 minutes), until they have visibly puffed. Place the oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the rugelach for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are just starting to turn lightly golden, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Let the rugelach rest for 10 minutes on the baking sheets.
- Add confectioners’ sugar to a medium bowl. Roll the warm rugelach, a couple cookies at a time, in the confectioners’ sugar and transfer them to a large serving tray – it's ok to stack them. Don’t be tempted to skip the confectioners’ sugar step; the rugelach aren’t overly sweet, and it helps round out their flavor.
Notes
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days. The powdered sugar will soften slightly over time, which is normal.
- To freeze baked cookies, cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and dust with more powdered sugar if needed.
- For make-ahead, shape and proof the cookies. Freeze unbaked cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet until firm, then store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2–4 minutes to the bake time.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
One word – AMAZING! My kids loved them. They were so fun to make together. Thank you for sharing.
That’s awesome! I’m glad you enjoyed making them together 🙂
I’ve never left my rogaliki out to rise extra 30 mins-2 hours, but it seems like common sense now if ya want them fluffy lolvwill def try your recipe, since mine requires refrigeration which can b time consuming
Yes it definitely helps and they seem softer if you let them rise before baking.
Sorry about all the typos! Rocking baby to sleep while texting with one hand 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I am putting my baby to sleep right now and gonna go make these! They look wonderful! Reminds me of my childhood 🙂
Quick question, do you think the Cabadian flour is good for all pastry and cakes? It seems like most people are raving how amazing it is so i wider if it will make good cakes too?
That’s what u keep hearing too. Slowly but surely I will remake all my cakes with Canadian flour. The measurements might vary slightly.
Natasha, I love your blog! I am on here daily. I just don’t leave comments behind. I love reading your paragraphs before the recipe. (That’s the fun part) and than comes the yummy stuff! Keep up the great job!
Thank you so much! You’re the third person this week that’s mentioned they like the text portion; It’s nice to know that gets read. 🙂 I guess I better work on my humor skills.
As soon as I go buy this flour I will make these. Can’t wait!
These look so good! I’m looking forward to trying them out.
Enjoy!
Natasha, these are so yummy. I love blackcurrants, I remember in Estonia we had a huge ogorod and i just picked em and enjoyed it. Now 25 years in America only few times I’ve seen em here. About Canadian flour its the BEST!!! I bake with it for many years; it makes everything more fluffy.
http://leascooking.blogspot.com
That’s what I keep hearing and I finally gave in 🙂
gonna try thanks Natasha
shoot i just had some and now want some more….pays to live with the parents 🙂
Tanya you are so spoiled!
Natasha thanks for sharing this recipe…..my Mom use to make these all the time when we were growing up. Just last week my husband bought a few jars of Blackberry jam that were from Turkey and his hometown so now I have a use for them instead of just on toast.
Thanks for the plug for Canadian flour…all my life we use Five Roses flour, it’s because of all the good wheat that we have here in Canada because of the first Ukrainian settlers who brought seeds with them from the Ukraine when they settled over a century ago.
………thanks again for one of your great recipes and photos.
That is so good to know! I appreciate Canadian flour even more!
Hi Natasha
Thank you for the recipe. I don’t come from a family of bakers but I remember eating Rugelah as a child in Brooklyn. I think the Bakeries also made apricot filled Rugelah. About the flour…I live now in Kansas where they also grow the Russian Wheat. The local mill (Hudson Cream) make nice soft flour. I may try the local flour and hope I maintain the authenticity of your recipe.
Thank you again
Heidi
You are welcome Heidi, let me know how they will turn out 🙂
Where can I get some of that blackberry jam? Sounds wonderful!
hi Natasha….you were asking about that Blackberry jam, well I’m not sure where you live….. but if you go to any Middle Eastern store or a Turkish store if you have, they have the best Jams and preserves.I always look to see if it is made in Turkey, they have the best and tatses like the real fruit jams.
Thank you!
Natasha, love your little comment about giving us a lick (“keep in mind i probably licked it first”).. it made me bust out laughing.. anyways, that recipe looks easy and yummy.. cant wait to try it out.. on a side note, i use almond milk all the time for pancakes and it works just as well 🙂
I kept having to get new spoons because I couldn’t resist licking them. Haha! That’s good to know about the almond milk. Thanks darling!
Thank you so much Natasha. I will stop by Sam’s club this weekend to get it. Thanks again.
My MIL makes these using Pillsbury Crescent (butter flake) dough found in the refrigerated section of the store. I don’t know how yours taste, but her results are pretty good, not to mention super easy to whip up if you’ve got unexpected company, since the dough is all ready to use.
That stuff is handy! I’ve used that dough stuffed with a chicken mix but not for rugelach. Anyway this dough is amazingly easy to make too and i love easy! I always thought they were time consuming until I made them myself.
4. Divide the dough into five even portions and cover them loosely on the counter with some plastic wrap until you are ready to use them.
How long do you wait before you use them? Is it matter of minutes or hours?! 🙂
can’t wait to try these!
Make them right away. There’s no waiting. Just make them one after another. The only time you have to wait is when the rugelach is all rolled and made and they are rising.
I think I will make these with my 9 year old, she is on summer break and loves helping me in the kitchen. They look so cute, can’t wait to make them. I always have raspberry preserves in my fridge, so that’s what I will use. And I love that you don’t need eggs for this I always run out of them (my kids love eggs and bacon in the morning, my hubby too 🙂 And about flour I buy mine at Sam’s Club it’s 25 lbs and 8 or 9 dollars. I bake alot of bread and cakes and it always comes out great. I’m not sure what brand it is but they only have one in either 25 or 50 lbs bags.
Yes these are fun for kids to make because they are easy to roll. That makes me wish we had a Sam’s Club around, but thank you for sharing. That’s great to know! Someone else asked about where to buy it.
I buy this flour at Russian stores it Does makes a big difference in all the baking dishes, also I heard that Winco sells it too they have big bags too in the section of bulk foods. I wanted to ask you Natasha how and where do you store it.
I use a large plastic lidded container (the large animal cracker tubs work well too) and I just transfer to the small container and keep the rest in the laundry room. 🙂 Maybe eventually I’ll buy a cute jar to hold the flour. I’ve never seen it at Winco, but I’ll definitely scope the place out next time I’m there. Thank you so much!
Hello,
I was wondering if I could use something instead of milk.. due to milk allergy..
water?
Hi Masha, that must be rough; are you allergic to dairy? I just asked my Mama and she said it should still work well with water.
No it is my husband so i have to sacrifice for him lol….
And yes he is allergic to dairy so i try to substitute things around and still make food taste good.
Oh how sad 🙁 But he is blessed to have you 🙂
Almond or Coconut milk is a wonderful substitute for Dairy milk. You can buy it in any store nowadays.
Thanks Val! I’ve never tried cooking with that but I sure drank a lot of rice milk for a few months after I had my son because I thought milk was bothering him.
I made them yesterday and they turned pretty good and he really liked it them also.. thank you for all your help.
Sweet! Thank you for letting me know. I’m glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I looked online where I could buy this flour, but I can’t find it. Would you be able to send a link to the place where you bought it from. By the way, they look amazing. can’t wait to make them.
This is what I found in amazon by searching Canadian Flour: FIVE ROSES FLOUR 22lbs BAG
I don’t think the brand is as important. I hear it’s also sold at korean stores. I’ll pick up some cake flour next time I’m at the store and test with that as well. I’m so curious about it since it does produce a softer product. My bag of flour was from Cash and Carry and I believe it is about $15 there for 44 lbs.
Sarah, my wonderful readers have told me that it is also in Winco, Sam’s Club (not at Costco; boo) and Russian stores. I guess it’s more common than I thought. It doesn’t say “Canadian flour” it’s just a product of Canada.
Cash and Carry has canadian flour, cheaper then Winco or any russian store.
That’s where my Mom buys her’s and my last bag was from there!
Thanks for sharing, Natasha.
Тhey are pretty easy to make! Which is nice.
P.S. I like reading the first paragraphs before you start the actual recipe description. They are fun to read 🙂 never miss those )
Thank you! I always wonder if that gets read or not. I enjoy writing it 🙂