Everyone needs a good rugelach recipe when Fall rolls around. This tasty pastry is packed with a sweet filling and goes perfect with a hot cup of coffee.
Not in the mood for sweets? Check out our savory rugelach fillings below!

What are Rugelach Cookies?
Rugelach cookies originated from Jewish communities within Poland. Typically, these stuffed pastries are filled with nuts, fruit preserves and cinnamon.
For this recipe, we use the same dough that we use for our rogaliki recipe. It’s so darn delicious and comes out flaky every time.
To top it off, this recipes makes about 60 large cookies. This is the perfect recipe for your next potluck or holiday dessert tray making party.
What Rugelach Taste Like
Rugelach are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. While the dough tastes buttery and cheesy, the inside is sweet and a little spicy from the cinnamon.
How To Make Rugelach Cookies
- Mix flour, sugar and yeast. Cut in bits of butter until you have a lumpy batter.
- Add cream cheese and egg yolks to the dough.
- Form the dough into a ball and place into a bowl covered in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill for a couple hours.
- Grind walnuts up. (Option: If you like coarser nuts, give them a rough chop instead of grinding so fine.)
- Combine walnuts, powdered sugar and jam.
- Separate the dough into small pieces and roll it into a thin long rectangular shape. Spread the filling and roll the dough up.
- Cut the roll into two-inch pieces and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake pastries until golden and puffed.






Other Fillings For Rugelach
- Nutella – Spread a thin layer of Nutella on top of the dough for a chocolatey pop of flavor.
- Jam – You can use strawberry, raspberry, apricot and more! At the end of the day, every jam is tasty.
- Cinnamon & butter – Let your butter reach room temperature and mix it with cinnamon sugar.
- Dried fruit – Diced cherries, raisins or dried cranberries work great. You could even use dates if you fancy them.
- Nuts & Brown Sugar – Combine your favorites nut(s) with cinnamon and brown sugar.
- Cheddar Cheese & Pecans – Yes, rugelach can be made savory too! Melt butter and spread it on top of your dough. Then, coarse grind some pecans and add a heaping pile of cheddar cheese.
- Pesto & Sun-dried Tomato – Spread a healthy layer of pesto on top of your dough. Then, coarse chop some store-bought sun-dried tomatoes. Sprinkle on top along with an extra layer of shredded parmesan cheese.
Hot Tip: Sprinkle the tops of your rugelach with some coarse sugar. It adds a nice texture and crunch.
Storing Rugelach Cookies
Have some leftover cookies or looking to prepare a batch for the future? Follow these simple storage tips:
- Room Temperature – Store rugalech in an airtight container on the counter for up to two weeks.
- Freezing – Freeze raw rugalech by placing individual pieces on a baking sheet and placing directly in the freezer. Once the pieces have completely frozen transfer them to a freezer-safe plastic bag. Reheat by following recipe instructions.

More Amazing Cookies
Looking for more cookies to add to your rotation? These are some of our favorite European-style cookies:
- Ferrero Rocher Christmas Cookies – If you are obsessed with Ferrero Rocher candies, these cookies are about to become a regular on your next holiday cookie tray.
- Kolaczki Recipe (Polish Cookies) – These jam-filled butter cookies will knock your socks off.
- Rogaliki – Crescent cookies packed with sweet poppyseed filling? YUM!
- Madeleine Cookies – These French cookies (or tea cakes depending on what chef you’re talking to) are delicious in their simplicity.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups flour
- 2 tbsp yeast
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 16 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups walnuts or pecans
- 2 cups jam apricot, fig, or raspberry
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Mix flour, sugar and yeast in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter till mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Add cream cheese and egg yolks and mix well. The dough should look a bit crumbly.
- Form the dough into a ball and place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let the dough chill in a fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Run walnuts through a grinder or blend in a blender. Be sure not to overmix them or else they will turn into a nut butter!
- Combine walnuts, powdered sugar and jam all together until the texture is creamy. Don't be worried if your filling doesn't look just like mine. Depending on the jam you use, your filling might be a different color and have a slightly different texture.
- Roll the dough in small pieces. Roll it into a thin, long rectangular shape. Apply the filling onto the dough and roll it into a long roll.
- Cut the roll into two-inch pieces. Place them on a lined baking sheet, leaving space between the rolls.
- Bake the pastries at 350°F for 30-40 min, or until golden and puffed.
can you use rugelach dough to make nut rolls?
Hi Mary, I have not tried that. If you give it a try, please let me know how it went. I am interested in the result. Good luck and happy holidays!
Hi, can you clarify what you mean by roll into small pieces ? I’m not sure how many pieces I need to divide my dough into.
I divide the dough into 4 or 6 pieces. This is really a preference thing, it would depend on your work space.
Never heard of these! Can't wait to try!
I hope you love them!
This is so good!! My kids couldn't resist!
They really are an awesome treat! I'm glad your family enjoyed them.
These are seriously delicious and the step by step tutorial is so helpful! Thank you for this recipe!
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe, rugelach are really one of the best sweet treats!
Is the butter and cream cheese supposed to be room temperature?
Yes, it will be easier to comfine it together if they are at room temperature.
I made them several times already) everyone who tried them loved them)
but today i decided to make half a batch. i was ready to make the dough and realized that i am missing cream cheese!!
But i wanted to make them so bad that decided to substitute it with sour cream)
it worked!!!!!
Natasha, i love the story you wrote about the history of this recipe. Thank you) everytime i eat them, i think about that story)
Be blessed)
Oh so sweet! Glad like them and thanks for sharing with me. It's nice to know when people use my recipes. Thanks 😉
Can I let the dough sit for longer than 2 hours in the fridge??
Yes, it has to be at least 2 hours.
These look yummy! Do you cut the butter into flour/sugar mixture by hand or do you use a mixer?
By hand or food processor would work best.
What kind of flour is used in these ?
I use Canadian flour but for those cookies any all purpose flour would work.
This looks sooooo good . I will be making soon 🙂
Oksana, I hope you love them! Share a photo when you do 😉
Just made these! Absolutely delicious.. I also used as a filling Nutella with heavy whipping cream and chopped nuts.... Yummmm.. Thanks for the recipe
Nutella win walnuts is an amazing idea. Thanks for sharing. I am trying your version next time!
Seems like the jam would escape the pastries easily. Did u have a problem with it?
It wouldn't escape because the mixture is pretty thick due to walnuts and powdered sugar. It could escape if you apply a lot of filling.
My mom used to bake the log then cut them after baking when they are cool. It will work if your jam is too runny....
oh yumm, that sounds so good!