Rugelach has always been one of my favorite treats. At almost every Jewish holiday at my grandmother's house growing up, these crescent-shaped, pastry–cookie hybrids—whether homemade or bakery-bought—were a huge draw at the dessert table.
And although I'm an avid baker, for some reason, I never tried making rugelach myself. I guess I thought the cookie was too complicated. Then I came across Ina Garten's rugelach recipe—and felt a new surge of confidence. Ina is my North Star for elegant-but-comforting baking. Surely her methods could steer me through any challenges I encountered (with grace, kindness, humor and definitely plenty of butter).
The five-star reviews had me drooling from the first click. "I had a professional baker tell me that these rugelach were first-rate. How much higher a commendation can you ask for than that?!" wrote one commenter. "The dough is the best I have ever tasted for rugelah," raved another.
When rugelach is done right, every bite tastes like a mini holiday celebration. Sweet, spiced, nutty, nostalgic, it's exactly the kind of treat that disappears by the handful. Ina's recipe gave me the nudge I needed to try making rugelach from scratch. I grabbed the ingredients and got to work. Here's how I did!
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Quick background in case you're unfamiliar: Part cookie, part pastry, rugelach are made by topping triangles of dough with a sweet filling of nuts, dried fruit and other ingredients, then rolling up the dough and baking it. Rugelach sort of look like mini croissants. The dough typically contains both cream cheese and butter for a soft, pliable base that bakes up layered and flaky—hence the hybrid cookie–pastry designation.
Rugelach is a Yiddish term with several spelling and pronunciation variants. I pronounce it "RUG-uh-luh"; others say it more like "ROO-gah-lukh." I spell it the way you see here in the story, while some go with "rugelah" or "rugalach" instead. The singular and plural forms are the same—you can enjoy one rugelach or five rugelach. And these treats taste amazing, no matter how you say the word.
Related: 8 Classic Hanukkah Treats and Easy Dessert Recipes
Ingredients for Ina Garten’s Rugelach
Courtesy Jessica Wrubel
Check out the recipe here for all the details. Here's a quick rundown of ingredients you'll need:
Cream cheese, softenedUnsalted butter, softenedAll-purpose flourGranulated sugarKosher saltVanilla extractLight brown sugarCinnamonRaisinsChopped walnutsApricot preservesOne egg beaten with a splash of milkRelated: The Simple Ina Garten Cookies That Will Put You in the Holiday Spirit
How To Make Ina Garten’s Rugelach
Start by prepping the dough: In a large bowl or in the bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and smooth. Then, mix in the sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Beat briefly to combine. Add the flour gradually until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form into a ball. Divide the ball into four smaller balls and tightly wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
While the dough is chilling, make the filling. It's as easy as stirring together brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, raisins and walnuts.
Once the dough is nice and chilled, roll each portion into a 9-inch circle. Spread the surface of each circle with jam. I used two kinds: Garten's recommendation of apricot, as well as a three-berry confiture I'd picked up at a Parisian market (which felt very Ina!). Then, you sprinkle the jammy surfaces with the filling mixture, pressing gently to make sure the bits really stick.
Courtesy Jessica Wrubel
Now it's time to cut the dough. Your goal here is to divide each circle into 12 triangular slices—kind of like you would a pizza. First, cut each circle into quarters, then cut each quarter into three narrow slices.
Starting from the wider end, roll each triangle of dough into a crescent shape and place it seam-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Chill the rugelach for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°. After the crescents have chilled, brush with the egg wash, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake until just golden, which should take 15 to 20 minutes.
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My Honest Thoughts About Ina Garten’s Rugelach
Courtesy Jessica Wrubel
Going into this, I didn't think anything could match the nostalgic rugelach of my childhood—certainly not any rugelach I made! But I have to say, Ina's take on the classic treat is ridiculously good. Warm, sweet, cinnamony and flaky, these treats are everything you're craving in a cookie/mini pastry experience.
It's hard to believe I was ever intimidated by these buttery beauties, as I had zero problems pulling this recipe off. Making the dough is a snap with a stand mixer, and once it's chilled, it rolls out beautifully, waiting to be brushed with jam and topped with the cinnamon sugar, walnuts and raisins.
Both jams I used tasted lovely and were just sweet enough. With the sugar, they left little caramelized puddles on the baking sheet that I couldn't help scraping up with a spoon. This is right around when my boyfriend came running into the kitchen to snatch some warm rugelach off the tray. The intoxicating scent of cinnamon, toasted walnuts and buttery dough is pretty hard to resist. Good thing this recipe yields 4 dozen!
If you're on the hunt for an impressive-looking, easy-to-make mini dessert to add to your holiday rotation, Ina's rugelach will not disappoint.
Related: Pastry Chefs Reveal When You Should Actually Use Parchment Paper vs. Wax Paper
My 3 Top Tips for Making Ina Garten’s Rugelach
Courtesy Jessica Wrubel
To make rolling out the dough disks a little easier and to improve the look of your cookies, sprinkle the surface lightly with flour and rotate the disk a quarter of a turn with each roll-out. This helps create a more even, circular shape. The less lopsided your dough circle, the more uniform your finished cookies will be.
2. Have fun with the filling
While Ina's filling is a great base, feel free to experiment with swaps and add-ins that suit your preferences. Some home cooks like to use raspberry preserves instead of apricot, for insatnce, or chopped pistachios instead of pecans. Chopped bittersweet chocolate and Nutella are popular options, too. It's hard to go wrong here!
3. Prep ahead
As Ina notes, unbaked rugelach freeze well. To get a jump on holiday baking, prep the entire batch right up to the baking step. That way, you can just pop the rugelach in the oven right before company arrives (or bake a few for yourself whenever you want).
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