Raspberry Rugelach

Name: Raspberry Rugelach
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 270 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature); 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature, cut into chunks); ¼ cup granulated sugar; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 9 tablespoons jam; 1 tablespoon mandarin orange zest (or orange zest); 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon water; 1/4 cup freeze dried raspberries; 2 tablespoons large crystal sparkling sugar

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Raspberry Rugelach are buttery, crisp, pastry dough crescents rolled up around bright, fruity raspberry jam. Make plenty to share for cookie exchanges, care packages, and gifting.

Gift tin of Raspberry Rugelach sprinkled with pink powder and sugar with dreidles and candy gelt.

Why you’ll love this recipe

This Jewish pastry cookie is popular year round and are favorite cookies for Chanukah. The dough is easy to work with and can be made with a variety of fillings.

Rugelach pastry is most often made with either cream cheese or sour cream. I used the cream cheese version for this rugelach recipe because I find that it stays fresh longer.

The filling for these bite sized treats is made with raspberry preserves (I like the Bonne Maman brand) mixed with the zest of one mandarin orange. The zest brightens the flavor and adds just a touch of tartness to the sweet filling.

Don’t worry about seeds in the jam. You won’t notice them in the cookies.

The beautiful pink raspberry powder topping makes these rugelach stand out. The powder is easily made by crushing freeze dried raspberries. Sprinkling the powder on top of the baked cookies adds an extra pop of color and flavor.

Ingredients

Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.

Use a food processor to combine the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Add sugar and flour then pulse to combine just until a dough forms.
Divide into three pieces of dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill.
After chilling, roll dough, one piece at a time, into a 12″ circle, ⅛″ thick.

Instructions: spread jam on dough, cut into wedges, roll into crescent cookies, egg glaze, bake, sprinkle.

Mix the jam with the zest and spread a thin layer of raspberry filling onto the dough circle with an offset spatula, leaving a ½″ outer border and a 2″ circle at the center.
Cut into 16 wedges with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Roll up each wedge into a crescent shape from the outer edge.
Place each little crescent on a parchment lined baking sheet with the dough point tucked under. Brush with the egg wash glaze. Bake cookies until deep golden brown.
Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle the little cookies lightly with a mixture of ground freeze dried raspberries and large crystal sugar.

Storage

Store rugelach cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Filling variations for one dough circle

If you love these raspberry rugelach, next time try this traditional dough with one of these filling variations.

Jelly or jam flavor of your choice: 2-3 tablespoons
Traditional filling: 2-3 tablespoons jam, 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon finely chopped nuts, 1-2 tablespoons raisins or chopped chocolate chips
Peanut Butter and Jelly: 2-3 tablespoons jelly, about ½ cup chopped peanut butter chips
Milk Chocolate Toffee: ½ cup chopped milk chocolate chips, ½ cup toffee bits
Lemon Tart: 2-3 tablespoons lemon curd, ½ cup chopped white chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons finely chopped toasted almonds
Peppermint:½ cup chopped dark chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons crushed candy canes
Coconut-Chocolate: ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut, ½ cup mini chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons finely chopped toasted almonds

Inside a rugelach cookie showing layers of pastry dough and jam.

Tips

Don’t over mix the dough. Once you add the flour, pulse only 6-10 times just until the ingredients come together. If a dough ball forms, you’ve pulsed too long, resulting in tough pastry.
Don’t worry about rolling out a perfect circle. A lop-sided circle works just fine.
Don’t spread the filling all the way to the center of the circle. Leave a 2” circle at the center. This will make the rolling process less messy and the pointy end will stick better to your cookie.
A pizza or pastry wheel is the easiest tool for cutting the dough into wedges.
This one is really important. FREEZE the formed cookies for 15 minutes before baking. This will reduce spreading and create fluffier cookies.
These cookies are delicious with or without the raspberry powder. When using the powder, sprinkle immediately after removing the rugelach from the oven, so that the powder will stick to the cookies. Don’t add the powder before baking because it burns easily.
Remove the rugelach from the baking sheet immediately after adding the raspberry powder and sugar. Otherwise, the oozing filling can make the cookies stick to the pan.

Frequently asked questions

What nationality is rugelach?

Rugelach originated in the Ashkenazy Jewish communities in eastern Europe. It can be found in many countries today, with special popularity in Israel.

What is the meaning of rugelach?

Rugelach is a Yiddish word meaning “little twist”.

Closeup of rugelach sprinkled with large crystal sugar and freeze dried raspberry powder.

More Chanukah recipes

Chocolate Rugelach is made with the same delicious, flaky pastry dough as these Raspberry Rugelach but instead of crescents, the whole rectangle of dough is rolled up around a fudgy chocolate filling and sliced into thin, spiral cookies.

Chocolate Chanukah Gelt Cookies are soft, fudgy cookies made with vegetable oil for long lasting freshness.

Chocolate Espresso Spritz Cookies are a creative way to create dozens of dreidle cookies in minutes with a cookie press and a standard disc.

Lemon Sugar Cookie Stars are fresh, bright and lemony.

Homemade Chocolate Coins are a fun project for the whole family! Make your own Chanukah gelt!

Jelly Doughnut Cookies are cookies pretending to be jelly doughnuts! The delicious, soft, puffy cookies has a melted jelly center.

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