Rugelach with Jam Recipe for Christmas
Rugelach, just like the famous Babka, originated in the Jewish communities of Poland. They are little baked crescent rolls containing a soft dough made of cream cheese, butter and flour. There are many variations of Rugelach: they contain various fruit jams or spreads like nutella or simple chocolate spreads.
Whatever you choose to fill them with, I can guarantee you they will be delicious! I simply loved them to the core! The cream cheese in the dough makes them so addictive!
- 150 g all purpose flour
- 115 g butter (room temperature)
- 115 g cream cheese (room temperature)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 Pcs egg yolk
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- extra flour (for dusting)
- 30 g chopped almonds
- 100 g jam of your choice (I used homemade cranberries jam very low in sugar)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Making the dough
In a food processor, add the flour, salt and sugar and give it a few pulses. Add the cream cheese, butter and egg yolk and pulse until everything comes together. Divide the dough into 2 and cover them with plastic foil. The dough will be very sticky but once it gets cold it will be firm. Chill the dough at least 4-5 hours or overnight (the best options, this way you don't need to wait). Another option would be to keep it in the fridge for 1 hour, then in the freezer for 30 minutes. I tested both methods and they work fine.
- Forming the crescent rolls
When the dough is chilled, take it out on a piece of baking sheet and make sure you dust the surface with flour. Dust the dough on top as well as this will become slightly sticky once we start rolling it. This is why it is important to chill the dough very well and to dust the surface with flour. Roll the dough into a big circle making sure it does not become paper thin (it should still be a bit thick). Cut it into 8 equal triangles and spread the jam all over the surface. Sprinkle the almonds and half of the sugar quantity and then roll the crescent rolls until you get the desired shape.
Repeat the steps for the second disc of dough.
- Baking the rugelach
Place the rugelach on a baking tray and bake it for 25 minutes at 180 degrees. Dust with icing sugar if you want them to be sweeter and serve them with tea. They will disappear in 2 minutes, I can assure you! They are that delicious!