Addicting Apple Rugelach (Rogaliki)

This Apple Rugelach recipe will give you a cookie/dessert that is irresistible. The dough is flaky, buttery and soft, the apple jam filling is perfectly tart, and the powdered sugar gives you the perfect amount of sweetness. You cannot stop after eating just one of these. They’re really, really good!

What are Rugelach?

Rugelach are crescent shaped cookies made out of a buttery, flaky dough and some kind of a filling. The name of the cookie comes from Yiddish and means “twist” or “little twist”. This cookie originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and it is probably the most well-known cookie associated with Judaism. Here is a cool article from Haaretz The Little Pastry That Could: How Rugelach Became Israel’s Go to Sweet, if you’re interested. Also the Wikipedia page for Rugelach has some interesting information as well.

This particular recipe for Apple Rugelach comes from my second mama (mama-in-law) who makes them quite often especially around Christmas time. Also, these type of Rugelach cookies are very well know in the Russian community (usually called Rogaliki). I’m not sure when they came to be part of Russian cuisine, but you will definitely see recipes for ‘Russian Rogaliki’ around the internet.

The recipe is very easy to make, but the dough does require resting or cooling time. It is best to prepare the dough and refrigerate it overnight. If you’re in a hurry, let the dough rest at least 4-6 hours. The dough will be more soft and maybe just a bit harder to work with, but it works out.

Ingredients needed for Rugelach

Batter:

• Flour
• Butter – can also be made with margarine
• Sour Cream (some recipes also use cream cheese as an alternative, but this one was only tested with butter).

Filling:

• Apple jam or other fruit preserves (Check out my recipe for Apple Jam without Pectin. So good!)

How to make Apple Rugelach

1. To prepare dough, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and sour cream together. Melt the butter, and add it to the flour mixture. Mix everything together, but do not overmix! Refrigerate covered overnight or for at least 4 hours. The dough will be hard.

2. Take out the dough and place on a well-floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is mostly even. Divide the dough into 8 triangular pieces.

3. Preheat your oven 425° F (220° C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. Roll each of the triangular pieces into a ball. Pat the ball into a patty and then roll it out into a very thin circle. Cut the dough like a pizza into 10-12 triangles (if you want your Rugelach to be larger, cut the dough into 8 triangles instead). Fill the thicker end of each dough triangle with a dollop of apple jam.

5. Roll the dough triangles starting at the thicker end and roll to the thinner end. Pinch the edges a bit to ensure the jam doesn’t drip out during baking. Place the finished Rugelach on a baking sheet.

6. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Note, that if you make the cookies bigger in the previous step, they will require more time to bake (up to 15 minutes). Transfer to a serving plate and let the cookies cool off a bit. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar. The dough doesn’t have any sugar in it and the cookie contains only a little bit of the jam. So don’t skimp on the sugar (however, you can sprinkle less if you’d like to be more ‘healthy’) 😄.

Enjoy with a hot cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. I can almost guarantee you won’t be able to just eat one!

How to store Rugelach?

Store the baked Rugelach in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days (I don’t think they’ve ever lasted longer than 3 days around here, though). If kept in the fridge they can last up to a week.

Lastly, if you make this Apple Rugelach Recipe, make sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating here! I’d love to hear back from you and will do my best to answer and respond to every comment. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe. I’d love to see the photos of the recipes you have made!