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
I use a empty white bottle that I bought in target Walmart or Marshall’s like for mustard or ketchup make the hole a little bigger and put my apricot jam in it and just squeeze out it works great
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Orysia!
I was wondering if you could freeze these?
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.
I’m back with another comment to say thank you for this recipe.
Just wanted to report that I tried rolling out the circles, separating them with parchment paper and then freezing.
It took about an hour to thaw the separated circles at room temp (I wasn’t in a rush, could have been less). I then rolled the circle out again a little, sliced as per recipe and, once filled and rolled, let them rise 20 min at 100°F, baked for 15 min (that’s all they needed!)
The result was AWESOME. I actually think even better! Which makes me overjoyed because I plan to bake a few hundred of these for an event and didn’t want the freshly baked texture to be compromised.
Oh, and I once again added some sugar to the hot butter rather than sprinkling after. And no dousing in powdered sugar here, I like them just sweet enough. And filled with chocolate chips this time… perfection!
THANKS, Natasha. God bless you and yours!
Thank you so much for those results & feedback, Mariya!! That’s so great!
am i able to make the dough the day before?
Hi Anna, because this dough is so simple and doesn’t require any rising time, we usually just make it and bake the rugelach. I don’t see any problems with refrigerating the dough covered, just let it come back to room temperature and puff up before using the next day.
I have made these twice and both times they turned out differently. My oven does not drop lower than 170* I read your comment where you said you stick a wooden spoon in the door and turn off the oven after it preheats. Now when you turn off the oven, do you still leave the wooden spoon in the door until they are double in size and then take the Rogaliki out and preheat oven to 360*?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Mary, yes I still leave the spoon in the door since the heating elements can still be giving off significant amounts of heat even after they are turned off. As the oven cools down some, you can remove the spoon. Once they have risen, I take them out of the oven and then preheat the oven fully for the baking.
Thank you so much! Will be baking them for Thanksgiving have a blessed Thanksgiving;)
I hope you love this recipe, Mary! Thank you for the great review!
hi natasha…my family background is from poland…so our ruggies are a bit different. my dough is made with butter and cream cheese…just a little note for those who might have missed the sugar on the dough…when i make mine i always use and egg wash on the top and sprinkle with sanding sugar just before baking instead.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Frances!
Can u use margarine instead of butter and almond milk instead of milk
Hi Lin! I haven’t tried those substitutions to advise. If you do an experiment, let us know how it goes!
Hi, Natasha what happens if you accidentally skipped the step with the sugar.
Hi Victoria, I’ve done that before :-O and the cookies won’t be very sweet. They are still edible and good if you douse them in powdered sugar. I would roll in powdered sugar until they are fully coated to compensate for the more savory interior.
Hi Natasha, how long do these last?
Hi Anna. ours disappear within a few days at our house so I haven’t stored that any longer.
Hi Natasha! I made these a while ago and they were good. Next time I’ll use fresh jam instead of canned, I think it would taste better. My favorite part was rolling each one up 🙂 Thanks for the recipe <3
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it
Hi Natasha. Is there a way to make these dairy free? Thanks in advance 😊
This should still work well with water, Almond or Coconut milk is a wonderful substitute for Dairy milk as well.
Is it possible to use puff pastry in place of the dough portion of the recipe?
Hi Bob. I honestly have not tried that. But it may work, you you try that please let me know how you like it!
Hi Natasha. Thanks for this great recipe. I made these with frozen/ defrosted cranberries and they are amazing. You should give it a try!
Thanks for the tip Diana! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! & Thank you for the wonderful review!
For the first time, I am trying the Rogaliki and I don’t know if I should put egg wash on them, but it doesn’t look like you did.
Hi Angela, We did not cover them in egg wash 🙂
Hi Natasha
I will be using my Kitchenaid for the first time with this recipe. When you add the flour to the butter mixture do you change the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment since the mixture will thicken quite a bit?
Hi Alicja, I can’t believe I missed that step! Yes definitely switch to the paddle attachment before adding the flour. Thank you so much for pointing that out. I have updated the recipe.
Great recipe, thank you. One note, if Rugelach are Russian then I am a Chinese Emperor.
Hi Anshel, they are called by a different name in Russian; rogaliki and made slightly differently but most people know them as “rugelach,” so yes, this is the Russian/Ukrainian version.
Anshel:
I am half-Romanian and half-Ukrainian living in Canada. Both sides of my family make these paistries and they have local names. To my knowledge, these paistries exist throughout Eastern Europe and Russia and each culture has their own twist on them. Sometimes it is the filling, sometimes it is about the dough ( my grandma insisted that “cornisori”, i. e. The Romanian version, must use lard in the dough. In reality, everyon’s got theiropinion!)
Please don’t be offended, many dishes are common to many cultures, especially in Europe where there was so much cross-cultural interaction.
Anshel:
I am half-Romanian and half-Ukrainian living in Canada. Both sides of my family make these paistries and they have local names. To my knowledge, these paistries exist throughout Eastern Europe and Russia and each culture has their own twist on them. Sometimes it is the filling, sometimes it is about the dough ( my grandma insisted that “cornisori”, i. e. The Romanian version, must use lard in the dough. In reality, everyone’s got their opinion!)
Please don’t be offended, many dishes are common to many cultures, especially in Europe where there was so much cross-cultural interaction.
Hi Natasha,
Incredible recipe that even I was able to bake a honest to goodness delicious rogaliki. I like how you can control the sweetness and how simple the ingredients. One question about sour cream, I see on many other recipes. What is the difference in taste? Thanks!
I’m so glad it was a success for you!! Thank you for the great review! We have always made these without sour cream and used milk instead so I’m not sure hot that would affect the overall consistency and flavor of the rugelach. We love the consistency and final product without the sour cream so have never thought to substitute. My Mom has made them this way ever since I can remember 🙂
Natasha so I made the dough as the derections say but my yeast didn’t mix into the dough. I’m dumbfounded don’t understand what I did wrong. U could literally see it in the dough tiny specks of yeast.
Huh, that is interesting and odd. What kind and what brand of yeast did you use? Was it fresh? How did the overall rugelach come out after it was baked? Did it rise properly?
I had the same issue – there are no directions for activating the yeast in the recipe. Mine are in the oven now. They still look like they will taste great, but still see specks of the yeast
hi. can i use any kind of flour?
Hi Alina, please see the second paragraph at the top for my notes on flour 🙂
Hi Natasha I’m planning on making those. And I was wondering will cherry filling work as well? The cherry filling that is being used for pies. I made those 2 days ago with shredded apples and honey. It tasted great especially the dough.
Hi Vicki, cherries are tough because you would probably only fit 1 cherry in each one before it was leaking out. You don’t want to overfill these because they are fairly small. I do have an excellent cherry recipe I could recommend to you and I think the cherry pie filing would work great for these (or fresh or frozen/thawed cherries).
Hi Natasha , I made these today and I’m just wondering are they supposed to be more soft like pastry or more like a dry cookie . Mine are more like a cookie , kinda hard
Hi Mira, they are somewhere in between; they aren’t cake soft and neither are they supposed to be hard. I wonder if maybe you used too much flour or baked them too long – they should be barely changing color when you pull them out of the oven. Also, what kind of flour did you use?