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
Hi Natasha! Any idea of store-bought preserves to use that shouldn’t leak out during baking?
Hi Yelena, look for thick preserves – definitely nothing loose and the best way to keep it from leaking out is not to overfill with preserves (it really only needs a little bit) and slightly push down the edges as you can see I’ve done in step 7 after folding the first bit of dough over the preserves.
I used organic strawberry preserves from Trader Joe’s. Surprisingly didn’t leak out! Thank you so much for your detailed reply.
Natasha, do you know how to get these to turn out soft rather than on the crunchy side?
Hi Irina, the type of flour you use with these makes all the difference. I’ve tested out so many different kinds and the Canadian one has just the right amount of gluten to make them work best. Also, even if you are using all-purpose American flour, bake them just until they are lightly golden. Overbaking can dry them out. They should normally be a soft cookie 🙂
Hi, I was just wondering how long do these keep for?
Hi Lisa, we haven’t tested the limits with these since they always get eaten within a couple of days. They are best and softest within the first couple of days, but I think they would be fine for 4 or 5 days.
I want to make these today (Saturday) and bring them to church tomorrow (Sunday). How should I store them until then? Thanks!
Let them come to room temp then dust generously with powdered sugar. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and keep in a cool dry place (room temp, away from humidity) until ready to serve the next day.
Thanks! The directions said to sprinkle with powdered sugar while they are still hot, or maybe I misunderstood.. Is it ok that I did that?
HI Anzhela, the powdered sugar sticks much better to the cookies if you put it on right away, but don’t put a cover over the cookies while still warm with the powdered sugar or it will turn sticky.
Thanks!
Hello Natasha
Thank you for these great recipes!
I was wondering if we can fill this dough with cheese or chocolate
Thank you
Hi Carla, I think it would be really good with chocolate and possibly cheese although I haven’t tried with cheese and if you’re making them savory, you probably want to omit the sugar.
Just made these using special biscuit/pastry flour and turned out beautiful. I did 2 batches and 1 was coated in powdered sugar and second was with a lemon glaze. The glaze really lifted the flavour. Only improvement I would make for next time would be trying to put more jam in the rogaliki.
Thank you for sharing your great review!
Hi Natasha,
I live in Australia. What flour would you recommend I use?
Hi Alicja, I wish I had a good answer for you but I don’t know how your flour compares. I think I’ll give this recipe a few more experiments with more different kinds of flour. I’m hoping to find something as good as Canadian and something that is more accessible!
Natasha, what is CANADIAN all-purpose flour? how is it different from American all-purpose flour? where do you buy your flower?
Thank you,
Svetlana
Hi Svetlana, Canadian flour is just flour made in Canada. It is sold in Cash and Carry and Winco and some European markets. From what I know, Canadian flour has a higher gluten content and therefore performs better in baking. I hate using specialty products and don’t use them unless we’ve tried other options and found that nothing else works better. In this case, that is definitely true. Some Walmarts even carry it but it varies by location: http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/five-roses-never-bleached-all-purpose-flour/6000016945063
Very good and easy recepie. Thanks
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I think 5 stars is not enough! I want to put 10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I absolutely loved it!! This recipe is so easy!! Thank you thank you thank you!! My favorite!!😋😋
Diana, that’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 😁
I know sounds stupid but 2 sticks small or big?
Diana, recipe uses two small sticks of butter (113g each). I also updated the recipe. I hope you love them 😀
Ok. Thank you so much:)
I made these rogaliki today, turned out pretty yummy. I will save this recipe for sure. Very easy and fast to make. Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed my Mom’s recipe :). Thanks Lena!
Hello Natasha! Your website is very inspiring. I never had time to do much outside of my full-time job in a corporate world. I just recently left my job to take care of my twin girls. I recently found your food blog and have to say it’s very impressive. I tried rogaliki recipe today. It’s a very easy recipe. I yeild about 50 rogaliki not 60. Perhaps mine are bigger. I will send you a pic. What else can you make out of this dough? I never though you could make a full -time career out of a blog. Wish you all the best! Good job!
I’m so happy you find my site inspiring. Thank you! 🙂 Did you cut less triangles with each round or make less balls of dough? It’s very likely yours were a little larger if you got 50, but as long as you loved them, it doesn’t really matter 🙂
Natasha…do you think I can try making these with pie dough??? Is it similar to the dough in your recipe. Just trying to find a shortcut:)))
It probably won’t work with pie dough – they are very different than pie dough. Have you tried making this dough? It’s actually pretty simple to make and work with. I think pie dough would be more difficult to make and roll out. I hope you love it 🙂 I can’t really think of a good substitute for the dough.
Hi Natasha..two questions, I am from Vancouver, Canada and we have traditional yeast that needs to be proofed and instant yeast that can be added to dry ingredients. Which yeast should I use? Also, can I freeze these and then add the powdered sugar when I want to serve them?
I am Ukrainian and love your recipes. I hope all is going well with the new baby.
Thank you Gloria :). Our baby girl is so sweet and we are just enjoying every moment with her :). Use the traditional yeast that needs to be proofed. I use the traditional one in all of my recipes. I haven’t tried freezing these because they always get eaten within a couple of days, but I think it’s worth a try. I would put the powdered sugar on after they are thawed or it might get gummy after the freezer.
Hi, I just made these rugelach yesterday and they taste divine. I was able to find some nice flour from shepherdsgrain.com at my local Cash and Carry store. I now have 50’# of it,but I will sell it to friends.In the recipe, it says to put 4 C. flour in a med. bowl with the yeast. Then it says to add 4 C. flour in and I did not add 4 C. flour to make it 8 C. flour.That’s what it sounds like needs to be done though. I just made it with 4 C. flour. Is it just the wording that makes it sound like 8 C. flour total? I used almond milk instead because I don’t have reg. milk at my house. I wasn’t sure if the casein in milk is needed, so I sprinkled a little dried milk into it in case. The walnut filling I used was:
1/2 lb. finely ground walnuts
1/2 C.white sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. boiled milk of your choice(I used almond)
1/8 C. melted butter
Mix all together for a nice filling
You’re right, that wasn’t written very clearly. I have updated the recipe to fix it. It is only 4 cups flour. Thank you so much for sharing your nut filling! I’ll have to try that 🙂
Hi Natasha thanks for the wonderful recipe and illustrations. You had asked for an easier technique to fill jam. I just put mine in a zip lock bag and cut the corner and squeeze out as I need it. You can also use a pastry bag too but I don’t always have those laying around. I actually use this technique for the meat filling when I make pelmeni.
That is brilliant! I love the idea of using a ziploc bag for these and for pelmeni! That’s so much cleaner. Thanks for sharing your great tip!
These look wonderful, funny that I found your site from Pinterest. My oldest daughter and I were speaking aboutRussian food. I’m part Russian from my Mom side. Andbecausemy mom married and changed religions I feel I lost on a lot of heritage so I don’t know how to cook a lot of Russian food. So I’m glad to find this recipe can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing with love Janice
Welcome to the site Janice, I hope that you’ll find many new favorites :).
i also am half rusian on my fathers side my grandfather was an archbishop in the russian church many years ago i have pic of him in his robes ,i am 83 and still like finding new recipes. and like you i dont have any russian recipes .i do have a recipe similar to this one with a nut filling not russian as far as i know i am half russian and half italian
Hi Natasha!
I was reading through some of the comments here and just had to research to find the next best equivalent to Canadian flour. Apparently bread flour because both have about 13% gluten content. Have you tried that way? I will be teaching my high school classes tomorrow and that was the best alternative I could order through Sysco. Hoping for the best! Btw, congrats on a healthy delivery 🙂 I love following you on IG.
Thank you Inna :). I actually haven’t tested this recipe with bread flour but I am so curious. If you try it, do let me know how it works out.
Natasha there is no salt in this recipe, i thought may be salted butter will work, i felt like they definitely need salt?
Ana, you can add a pinch of salt, it wouldn’t hurt. But neither me or my mom have used it in this recipe.
Hi Natasha, I’m hoping to make these later today but all out of preserves. Will a poppy seed filling work instead? Without getting too dry?
Yes, a poppy seed filling should work just fine. I do like the tiny bit of tang that preserves add though, but poppyseed filling would taste great too.
Yes, a poppy seed filling should work just fine. I do like the tiny bit of tang that preserves add though, but poppyseed filling would taste great too.