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A classic rolled chocolate rugelach cookie with a twist! Cream cheese dough with a nutella and oreo filling!
When I think back to the holidays I think back to all the crazy baking and cooking that took place. This year I spent the majority at my brother’s house with his wife and their two year old son (my nephew Judson).
It’s so exciting to watch a young one enjoy the holidays and get excited about Santa, filled stockings, and perfectly wrapped Christmas presents.
Oh and a chance to make and eat cookies. And repeat that again and again.
It also is a time to remember those who are not with us anymore. That’s where this chocolate nutella rugelach cookie comes in. My late grandmother on my Dad’s side was always known for her baking, especially at the holiday time. She would always have a platter full of different kinds of cookies, particularly rugelach. If you are not familiar with rugelach, it is a cream cheese based cookie dough that gets chilled and rolled out. The dough then gets slathered with usually a jam, spices, and nuts. This is not the first time that rugelach has made an appearance on this blog before.
I decided too take my grandmother’s tried and true recipe and put a few modern twists on it- a rugelach with nutella and oreo cookies. Sinful I know. I’m sure she would have approved though. So that’s where this cookie was born, out of old traditions and fun new beginnings.
So let’s talk about this cookie shall we?
How To Make These Nutella Chocolate Rugelach
It starts with a traditional rugelach dough. It’s important that you start with slightly chilled cream cheese and slightly softened butter. This dough is best made in a food processor.
A food processor ensures that the dough comes together perfectly and is not overworked. You want to stop the food processor when the dough looks like large cheese curds (sorry but that’s the best way I can describe it to you!).
Once you have the dough, you absolutely need to chill the dough. If you use your food processor and chill the dough this will ensure flaky almost crescent like cookies. Just be sure to chill the dough in flattened round disks. This will make it easier to roll it out!
Now its time to roll out the dough. Be sure to keep the other disk of dough chilling in the fridge while you make your first batch. You are aiming for about 11 to 12 inch circles. Hello triceps! No need for the gym after this little project!
Once you have your dough rolled out, now its’ time for the tasty filling! Chocolate Nutella and crushed oreos.
First spread on the dough a thin layer of nutella….
Then sprinkle on your crushed oreos. Feel free to nibble on some while you do this…it’s only right.
Now you need to cut each square into 12 crescents. This can be tricky. I like to use a pizza cutter it makes for a nice smooth cut. I cut down the middle vertically and then the same way horizontally to make 4 big wedges. From there I can more accurately cut each wedge into 3 smaller wedges.
I don’t always get the same size, but this method will ensure a slight bit more of accuracy. Trust me this cookies are so good no one will be judging you if your cookies aren’t the same size!
Now it’s time to roll! Be sure to dust your surface with a little flour or you are going to find yourself saying some unpleasant words later 🙂 Start rolling from the large end of the triangle and roll towards the point. You are basically making small crescent shaped cookies.
Continue rolling until you have all 12 rolled up! Now it’s time to bake! (See I told you getting them all the size is tricky!)
Before you bake, brush each cookie with a little egg wash. An egg wash is going to help you achieve that golden color we all love. You want to bake these for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees depending on your oven.
And now try to share these with your family and friends and not eat them all yourself (it’s going to be hard trust me). Nothing brings family together over the holidays like time honored recipes that have been passed down. I definitely made a mess in the kitchen making these (as I tend to do for anyone who knows me) but for me Christmas is never complete without a platter of rugelach cookies (no matter what the filling!).
It’s something to see my nephews scarf down these cookies (yes they are two and love sugar- hmm I think they might be related to me!), a cookie that I grew up with. So I have two suggestions I will leave you with…
1. Make these cookies…NOW (who cares if “cookie season” is over and we are supposed to be eating healthy. It’s all about moderation anyway right?!
2. Freeze some for later
So what twists have you put on time honored recipes from your family? Please share! I’d love to hear!
Nutella and Oreo Rugelach Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cold cream cheese cut into 4 pieces
- 1 stick 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Nutella
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon water
- 6 Oreo cookies crushed
Instructions
- To make the dough: Let the cream cheese and butter sit on the counter for 10 minutes- you want them to be slightly softened, but still cool. Put the flour and salt in a food processor, scatter over the chunks of cream cheese and butter. Pulse the machine 6 to 10 times. Then process scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until the dough forms large curds- don't work it so long that it forms a ball on the blade. Turn the dough out, gather into ball and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap the disks with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to a day (you can also freeze the dough at this point for up to 2 months, just be sure to wrap well).
- For the filling: Warm the nutella slightly so you can spread it easier. I heated mine in the microwave for about 20 seconds. You may need an additional 10 seonds longer. Crush your oreos in the food processor until they are fine crumbs.
- To shape the cookies: Pull one disk out of the fridge. If your dough is too firm, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes or give it a few good whacks with your rolling pin.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 11 to 12 inch circle. Spread about 1/4 cup of the Nutella onto your dough. Sprinkle half the oreo crumbs over the Nutella. Cover your dough now with a piece of parchment or wax paper and press the filling into the dough. Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 wedges, or triangles. (The easiest way to do this is to cut the dough into 4 even portions, then cut each of those wedges into 3 trinagles each). Starting at the base of each triangle, roll the dough so it becomes a crescent. Arrange the crescents on a parchment lined baking sheet with the points tucked under the cookies. Refrigerate again for up to 30 minutes (I actually skipped this step and found them to come out perfectly). You can also freeze the cookies at this point. Do not defrost before baking if they are frozen, just add a couple of minutes for the baking time.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an egg wash by stirring an egg and water together and brush a bit of the egg wash over each cookie. Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes rotating the cookie halfway until they are puffed and golden. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool to just warm or room temperature.
Lauren says
I know it’s cheating, but do you think Pillsbury crescent rolls would work as well?
Heather says
I would actually use store bought pie dough instead! The dough is a cream cheese based pie dough so you would get similar results with that as opposed to crescent roll dough. Just roll out your dough and cut each into 12 wedges and follow the recipe as usual! Hope that helps enjoy!
Lauren says
Thank you so much! So helpful 🙂