These Rugelach Cookies are very buttery and delicious, and they are filled with pecans and jam of your choice, before being coated with powdered sugar for the finishing touch. They are ideal for including in your assortment of Christmas cookies or even for using as a special treat for yourself at any time of the year.
The Ultimate Recipe for Rugelach
These rugelach cookies are a traditional holiday treat that never fail to make an appearance on the holiday spread. Because everyone in my family looks forward to these, I always have to ensure that I prepare at least enough for two batches. Typically, I begin baking cookies in November, then store them in the freezer until December, when I remove them from the freezer, wrap them up, and give them to my loved ones. They are really popular.
But eating rugelach isn’t something you should restrict yourself to just during the holiday season. At any time of the year, you should reward yourself with these delightfully buttery, flaky, and exquisitely sweet treats. Making them is not only simple but also a lot of fun.
Highlights from the Rugelach Cookie
Simple to Prepare.
That’s correct, preparing this dough couldn’t be any simpler. There is no requirement for any complicated or expensive equipment, such as a food processor or mixer. You only need your hands and a couple of forks to do this task.
Dough with no added sugar.
This is the component of the cookie that I enjoy eating the most. The dough has not even a trace of sugar at all. The only ingredients you need are flour, salt, butter, sour cream, and a dash of vanilla. But don’t worry, they haven’t lost their sugary taste. It is one of my favorite things to do to stuff these with strawberry or cherry jam, plenty of crushed pecans, and then cover them with lots of powdered sugar for an added dose of sweetness.
Straightforward Components
There is no need to make a special trip to the supermarket because you probably already have all of these lovely items stashed away in your kitchen pantry. Not even pecans? No worries, you can substitute any other kind of nut or jam that you choose. You could also fill these with chocolate or Nutella if you wanted to. Try out my Poppy Seed Rugelach for something that’s not only entertaining but also unique and delectable!
Neither heavy nor crumbly.
The crescent-shaped rolls of pastry are wonderfully airy and crisp despite their diminutive size. This buttery and flaky dough owes its buttery and flaky texture to both the butter and the sour cream.
Excellent for the upcoming holidays.
During the winter holidays, my family always made rugelach cookies. I have fond memories of those times. These cookies are one of the few things that my mother did make when we were growing up, despite the fact that she rarely baked anything at all. After she had prepared the pastry, she would hand it over to us and tell us to go to town spreading the jam and rolling the cookies in powdered sugar. This is a meal that the whole family will enjoy putting together.
Can Be Prepared Ahead of Time.
As I mentioned before, I bake them a few weeks in advance and store them in a jar with a tight-fitting lid in the freezer until Christmas. They taste exactly the same, and no one will ever guess that you didn’t prepare them very recently.
The Components That You Will Require
Flour I never use anything other than all-purpose flour when making these cookies.
Do not leave out the salt; if you take my word for it, you won’t believe how much of a difference it makes!
Butter: Personally, I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter on hand, you can omit the additional salt called for in the recipe. The addition of butter will give our cookies an even more flaky texture.
The use of sour cream is another factor that contributes to the flakiness of our cookie. You might use Greek yogurt in its plain form as an alternative.
Vanilla extract — If you don’t have any vanilla extract on hand but do have vanilla paste, you can use it instead. Vanilla is a crucial component in cookies since it accentuates the other flavors and helps our cookies taste even better than they already do.
Jam – To make spreading the jam easier, go for a product that is lovely and smooth. You are welcome to use any jam you like, whether it be apricot preserves, strawberry jam, grape jelly, or something else. It is also possible to just fill these with a filling made of cinnamon and brown sugar.
Pecans can be substituted with walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or any other type of nut that you choose.
Sugar in powdered form is also referred to as confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar.
Instructions for Making Rugelach
CREATE THE BREADCRUMBS BY HAND
Put the flour and butter in a sizable bowl and mix them together. Cut the butter into the flour using two knives or a pastry cutter until the butter forms bits about the size of peas. After the dough has come together, add the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix it together gently. After turning the dough out of the bowl onto the floured surface, give it a brief kneading. It should be cut into three equal parts, each of which should be wrapped in plastic, and then placed in the refrigerator for twenty minutes.
MAKE THE BREADCRUMBS WITH THE HELP OF A FOOD PROCESSOR.
Put some butter, some salt, and some flour into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse it a few times to blend it or until the bits are the size of peas, whichever comes first. After you have added the vanilla extract and sour cream, continue to pulse the dough until it forms large chunks. After turning the dough out of the bowl onto the floured surface, give it a brief kneading. It should be cut into three equal parts, each of which should be wrapped in plastic, and then placed in the refrigerator for twenty minutes.
USE A MIXER TO CREATE THE DOUGH.
Put the butter, sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt into the bowl of your mixer. Mix well. Beat everything with the paddle attachment until it is completely smooth. After adding the flour to the mixer and continuing to beat it until the dough begins to stay together, the finished product should have a ragged appearance. After turning the dough out of the bowl onto the floured surface, give it a brief kneading. It should be cut into three equal parts, each of which should be wrapped in plastic, and then placed in the refrigerator for twenty minutes.
SPIN THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE
To begin, turn the oven temperature up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a couple of baking pans with parchment paper. Spread a substantial amount of flour across the surface of your work area. Unwrap one of the dough discs and remove it from its packaging. Spread some flour over the surface of your rolling pin, then roll out the dough to a circle that is approximately 10 inches in diameter.
BEFORE CUTTING, FILLING, AND ROLLING THE COOKIES
The rolled dough should have approximately 2 teaspoons of jam spread over it. It is important not to add too much jam to the cookies since it will cause the jam to run out while they are baking. The next step is to equally distribute approximately one quarter of the ground pecans over the jam. Cut the dough into 12 equal wedges, much like you would a pizza, using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife. Roll each wedge into a crescent shape, beginning at the long, curved edge, and lay the rolls, point side down, on the baking sheet that has been prepared. This will prevent the rolls from unraveling as they bake. Repeat with the remaining portion of the dough.
BAKE THE COOKIES RIGHT NOW!
Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the food is just beginning to turn golden. The cookies should be allowed to cool for two minutes on the baking sheet before being moved to a cooling rack in order to reach their final temperature. Once they have been allowed to totally cool, you can either roll them through powdered sugar or generously sprinkle it over them.