Cherry-Pecan Rugelach (2024)

Resembling tiny croissants, rugelach are a staple of delicatessens and shops in New York and across the country, and they are beloved in the American baking repertoire. The simple, pliable dough comes together in a flash, and most of the time making these cherry-pecan cookies is spent on chilling the dough and the shaped cookies.

Make ahead: The dough, fruit-and-nut filling and cinnamon sugar can be made up to 3 days in advance. Keep the dough tightly wrapped and refrigerated.After the rugelach are rolled, they can be frozen on a baking sheet. Once hard, consolidate them into zip-top bags. They can then be baked right from the freezer. You may need to increase the baking time a bit.

Storage: Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days. To refresh, place the rugelach on a sheet pan and reheat at 300 degrees until warm.

Adapted from pastry chef Alex Levin and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan.

Ingredients

Directions

1. Step 1

   Make the dough: Place the butter and cream cheese on the counter and let them soften for about 10 minutes; you want them still cold. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, and scatter over the chunks of butter and cream cheese. Pulse the processor 5 to 10 times, until the mixture looks shaggy. Then process the dough, pausing the motor to scrape down sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds. Don’t overwork it to the point where it forms a ball on the blade.

   See Also

   Rugelach Bakealong

2. Step 2

   Turn the dough out, gather it into a 5-by-3-inch brick, and divide it into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough until chilled, at least 2 hours and up to overnight. You can also freeze the dough, tightly wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap, for up to 3 months.

3. Step 3

   Make the filling: While the dough chills, in a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon until combined. In another medium bowl, stir together the chopped nuts and dried fruit. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the jam until it’s loose and liquid.

4. Step 4

   Make the rugelach: Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, working quickly with one disk at a time, roll each disk out to a 12-inch circle; it’s okay if the circle isn’t perfect. (If you start feeling the dough getting sticky and too warm, dust it with a whisper of flour.) Using a pastry brush, coat the dough with a thin layer of jam, then sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar, and follow with a quarter of the nut-and-fruit mixture. Take a large piece of wax paper and gently press it over the filling so it better adheres to the dough. Then, using a pizza wheel, cut the dough into 12 wedges: Begin by cutting the dough into quarters and then cut each quarter into thirds. Set the wax paper aside for the following dough disks. Roll each piece of dough into a crescent from the wide end to the tip. Transfer to a pan, making sure the tip of each crescent is under the cookie. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes. Repeat with one more dough disk.

5. Step 5

   While the rugelach are chilling, position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg with water until combined.

6. Step 6

   Brush each crescent with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

7. Step 7

   Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back midway through. Transfer the rugelach to wire racks and let cool to warm or completely before serving. Repeat with the remaining two dough disks and the remainder of the filling.

Nutritional Facts

Per rugelach

• Calories

  100

• Fat

  7 g

• Saturated Fat

  4 g

• Carbohydrates

  9 g

• Sodium

  30 mg

• Cholesterol

  20 mg

• Protein

  1 g

• Fiber

  0 g

• Sugar

  5 g

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.

Adapted from pastry chef Alex Levin and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan.

Tested by Olga Massov.

Published December 3, 2019